Barbara A. Pierce. I lived in Memphis, Tennessee until moving to New York City at an early age. She attended junior high there, then high school in Mount Vernon, New York. After graduation, she worked as a telephone operator for two and a half years before entering college in Pennsylvania. Upon receiving a degree in education, she began a career as an elementary school teacher that lasted for thirty-five years. It was during that time she pursued and earned a Master's Degree in education and reading. After retiring in 2003, she became a substitute teacher at the same school. Since retirement, she has written ten children's books. "Remembering Our Black Trailblazers and Their Legacies" is number ten.