the rural south to the industrialized north. This occurred before and during World War I. When many European Americans left for battle, the demand for laborers, especially in wartime, increased at an alarming rate. Strapped for workers, businesses opened their doors to African Americans, many for the first time. Bessie lived with her brother Johnny who was a cook for Al Capone (Freydberg 69). She went to school to become a manicurist, which led to two jobs (Malveaux 34). Both were at barbershops on State Street. State Street was known as "The Stroll." "The Stroll," was the "black Wall Street and Broadway...it was downtown, with a!
             n ethnic view" (Rich 20). Here is where Bessie would meet entertainers such as Josephine Baker, Ethel Waters, Alberta Hunter, and Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Josephine Baker also shared Bessie's view on equality by refusing to perform in nightclubs unless African Americans were admitted (Freydberg 119). It was at this time that Bessie Coleman turned her full attention to f
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