4 A Blessed Childhood It wasn't easy to be a woman composer during the 1900s It was even harder to succeed if you were Black Florence Price defied these odds She was a popular composer during her life Then a surprising discovery brought her back to popularity long after her death
6 Florence Smith was born in Little Rock Arkansas on April 9 1887 Her father James was the only Black dentist in Little Rock Her mother who was also named Florence had been a music teacher before she married Later she ran a restaurant and worked as a secretary in a bank E S JONES Main Street Little Rock Arkansas around 1900 B B SHARP Florence's family was wealthy She grew up in a beautiful home filled with books where she learned to play on her family's grand piano
KANSAS OKLAHOMA MISSOURI ILLINOIS ARKANSAS TENNESSEE Little Rock TEXAS LOUISIANA MISSISSIPPI 7
