In the early 1900s, Harlem was alive with possibility-but opportunity was not evenly distributed. Episode 2 of BadAss Women Throughout History tells the extraordinary story of Pigfoot Mary, a formerly enslaved woman who turned street food into real estate-and became one of Harlem’s first Black female property owners.
Starting with nothing but a baby carriage and her own cooking, Pigfoot Mary sold pig’s feet on Harlem’s streets, feeding workers, artists, and neighbors shut out of white-owned restaurants. She made the modern equivalent of over $1,000 a day-then quietly reinvested her earnings into Harlem real estate during the Harlem Renaissance.
Despite being illiterate, she was a sharp businesswoman who understood cash flow, location, and long-term ownership. By the 1920s, she had become a self-made millionaire-decades before women were allowed basic financial access.
This episode explores entrepreneurship born from necessity, wealth built outside formal systems, and the overlooked women who shaped Harlem long before history books paid attention.
Sources
New York Times article:
“Overlooked No More: Lillian Harris Dean, Culinary Entrepreneur Known as ‘Pig Foot Mary’”
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/obituaries/lillian-harris-dean-overlooked.html
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