Taking objects apart and reassembling them was a fairly common activity for Amber Johnson Avery when she was a child. Curious and possessing a talent for problem solving, Avery would disassemble the family VCR or other gadgets around the house to see how they worked before figuring out a way to put the pieces back together before she got in trouble. She even became her own mechanic, fixing the chain on her bicycle without external assistance.
“I grew up around a lot of women—like my grandma, my mom, my aunts—and they did everything in the house,” Avery told the Mississippi Free Press. “Even though they had husbands and I had uncles, they still cut grass; they took out the trash; they took their cars to get serviced. They did things that traditionally women weren’t expected to do.”
The Jackson, Mississippi, native was immersed in many programs and initiatives that existed in Hinds County at the time. She played tennis at Parham Bridges Park, played basketball at the YMCA and hung out at the MetroCenter mall. She attended Callaway High School before transferring to Lanier High School, where she played basketball as a point guard…