Marjory Stoneman Douglas was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At 6, her parents separated, and she and her mother moved in with her maternal grandparents in Taunton, Massachusetts. While growing up, her mother was committed several times to a mental sanitarium. From a young age, Douglas was an avid reader, and by her teens, she began to write. At 16, she contributed to the children’s publication St. Nicholas Magazine, and in the following year, won a prize for her story “An Early Morning Paddle.” After graduating from Taunton High School, Douglas studied English at Wellesley College, where she edited the college literary magazine and joined the suffrage club. In 1912, the same year she received her degree, her mother died of cancer. After working in various department stores, she met and married Kenneth Douglas, who was 30 years her senior. Soon, she discovered she married a con artist, who committed forgeries and theft crimes and tried to scam her father, whom she hadn’t been in touch with for 19 years. While her husband was in jail, Douglas’s father reconnected with her and persuaded her to file for divorce and reunite with him in Miami, Florida. Douglas began to work at her father’s paper, which later became The Miami Herald, writing the society column, covering tea parties and social events. Not long after, she received the responsibility of the editorial page. When the US entered WW1 in 1917, 27 years old Douglas took a writing assignment and became the first woman in Florida to enlist in the Naval Reserve. The following year, she joined the Red Cross and got stationed in Paris as a nurse. On her return to the US, Douglas was appointed assistant editor at The Miami Herald; she wrote a daily column, The Galley, addressing social issues close to her heart, such as women’s suffrage, civil rights, and urban planning for the growing population. In 1923, at 33, Douglas had a nervous breakdown and left her job in the newspaper. She began to work as a freelance writer, selling articles and short stories to various magazines, which enabled her to purchase a house in Coconut Grove. Douglas wrote about life events such as murders, fires, and hurricanes, and her own experiences, from WW1 to the life of the pioneers in South Florida. Between 1920 to 1990, she published over 100 stories and articles. In addition to writing, Douglas also taught at the University of Miami, served on the editorial board of the University of Miami Press, was the book review editor of The Miami Herald, and wrote plays for the Miami Theater. In 1942, Douglas was asked to write about the Miami River. During her research, she became aware of the threats of the demolition of the Everglades and wrote about it instead. In 1947, after five years of work, she published the book The Everglades: River of Grass, in which she discussed the construction of the Tamiami trail that was built around and through the Everglades and the construction of dams and canals that would drain the wetlands and destroy its wildlife and ecosystem. The book became a best-seller and initiated Douglas’s second career as an activist and spokeswoman for conservation. She played a crucial role in defeating plans to construct an airstrip within the heart of the Everglades, alter the natural water flow within the grasslands, and promote initiatives to restore the natural ecosystem. In 1969, at 79, Douglas founded the Friends of the Everglades, which enabled her to advocate for preserving the Everglades nationally and internationally. Thanks to her efforts, the Everglades was declared a National Park in 1947, an International Biosphere Preserve in 1976, a legislatively designated wilderness area in 1978, a Wetland of International Significance in 1986, and, in 1991, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Everglades Protection Act passed, which fund water treatment facilities in the area. She was awarded by President Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her tireless work in 1993. All this time, Douglas never stopped writing; in 1951, she published her first novel, Road to the Sun, and in 1987, her autobiography, Voice of the River. Throughout her life, she published ten books and 20 short story collections. She died at the age of 108. Read more...

Born Marvyne Elisabeth Betsch in Jacksonville, Florida, to a wealthy Southern black family. Her great-grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, was the first Black millionaire in Florida who founded American beach in Amelia Island, Florida, the largest vacation resort for black families during the Jim Crow era. From a young age, Betsch showed musical talent, and by the age of 5, she played the piano. She went on to study piano at Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio, but after seeing the opera Aida, she changed her course to vocal studies. In 1955, at the age of 20, she traveled to Europe to sharpen her skills. She studied voice in London and Paris, and within four years, she had her opera debut in Braunschweig, Germany. The crowd loved her, and she received accolades for her interpretations of Carmen and Salome. After ten years abroad, Betsch returned to the US and found out that the legacy of her great-grandfather was in danger. American Beach’s maintenance was neglected throughout the years, and with the desegregation of the beaches in 1964, the black community could choose better locations for its vacation. Betsch decided to fight for the preservation of the beach. In 1975, 40 years old Betsch gave up her singing career, moved to her great-grandfather’s beach house, and began to dedicate her time and efforts to protect American Beach and its inhabitants from development and destruction. She became active in various environmental organizations, gave tours about the American Beach and its black history, made media appearances to raise awareness of its historical and ecological importance, and spoke with passers-by about it. Her work gained her the nickname The Beach Lady. Betsch donated all her life earnings, of about $750,000, to environmental charities, studies, and projects. When she ran out of money, she sold her family home and slept at friends’ houses and even on a chair on the beach. Her sister rented for her a small trailer, and Betsch turned it into a museum about American Beach. In 2002, at 67, Betsch was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery to remove her stomach. Instead of slowing her down, her declining health motivated her to do more. In the same year, she saw her efforts paying off when the American Beach became a National Register of Historic Places. In her last years, she worked on establishing the American Beach Museum, which opened in 2014, 9 years after her death. Read more...