DES MOINES, Iowa — February is Black History Month and WHO 13 is spotlighting the achievements and accomplishments of Black leaders and pioneers.
A Des Moines woman spent two decades introducing local children to African American inventors, scientists, and engineers in her work as a self-described social entrepreneur. Now, as Michelle Taylor Frazier looks to retirement, she’s reflecting on her family’s rich history, legacy, and two difficult topics that have altered her family forever: mental illness and suicide.
Michelle Taylor Frazier’s smile lights up a room when she talks about the accomplishments of her relatives.
“Well, these are my grand great-grandparents and my great-grandparents. Willie and my grandfather Chapman came on a train to work in Buxton, Iowa… Ben Buxton asked my great-grandmother’s family would they come and operate a boarding house, which is what they had in Virginia. And so, when she was on the train, she met my grandfather, who was coming out to work in the coal mines,” said Taylor Frazier.