The City of Miami recently elected its first female mayor in its 130-year history. While Eileen Higgins is the first woman to officially hold the office, there was another woman who led the city through turbulent times and did the work of mayor during her storied tenure in Miami City Hall.
Her name was M. Athalie Range — a civil rights advocate and the first Black person to run for the city commission.
She got her start in politics as an activist for her community in Liberty City on the Parent Teacher’s Association at the school of her children. At the time, Black students at Liberty City Elementary could only drink hot water from outdoor fountains fed by pipes exposed to the sun. She advocated for those students to have access to cool drinking water…