The Economic Times

She moved from Alabama to Alaska in 1958 for a fresh start. Months later, the woman became the region's first Black lawyer and first Black homesteader

Mahala Ashley Dickerson moved from Alabama to Alaska in 1958 after being drawn to the territory during a vacation. She became the first Black homesteader in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley and, months later, Alaskas first Black woman lawyer. She went on to spend decades fighting racial and gender discrimination and advocating for poor and underprivileged people.