Buy photographs by
Joanne Rathe

Beatrice Keel Jackson, 94, was raised as one of 17 children in Alabama, and came to West Medford in her 20s. She operated her own catering business and cared for infirm senior citizens. A group of African American women living in a mostly white suburban town are honored by the Shiloh Baptist Church, as trailblazers while serving as pillars of the community.