Marie Edwards arrived in Seattle from Kansas in 1942. While working the swing shift at Boeing, Edwards decided to study the beauty business. She apprenticed with Ruth Whiteside, who owned what was probably the first African American cosmetology school in Seattle at Seventh Avenue and Jackson Street. Edwards bought the school from Whiteside in 1946, and the Marie Edwards Beauty School moved to 23rd and Jackson in the Central Area. For 35 years, Edwards taught students and created employment opportunities for Black women. She and her students volunteered their services at youth centers and women’s prisons, where Edwards also encouraged the women to learn marketable skills and take control of their lives. In 1947, Edwards persuaded the state Department of Social and Health Services to let women receiving public assistance enroll in her school on scholarship, and when beauty salons wouldn’t hire her students right

This photo shows students in class at Marie Edwards Beauty School on 23rd Ave and Jackson Street.