March is Women's History Month, and we're is taking the opportunity to explore the stories of women from Arizona's history whom you might not have heard of in a special series we're calling Arizona HERstory.

Opening the series is the story of Ayra Hackett. Entrepreneur, midwife and community leader, she started the first Black woman-owned newspaper in the state: the Arizona Gleam.

In this episode we discuss not only her achievements but what the City of Phoenix was like during her lifetime, including racial segregation, redlining and the influence of Jim Crow Laws.

You can learn more about how redlining is still impacting our communities today in this investigation by our fellow Arizona Republic reporters.

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