Early Black entrepreneur celebrated on International Women’s Day

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on March 9, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Lethbridge Historical Society president Belinda Crowson speaks about the history of Lethbridge women during the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce International Women's breakfast Tuesday at Mocha Cabana.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce welcomed multiple women from the community to celebrate International Women’s Day with a breakfast at a restaurant owned and operated by a local business woman.
Lethbridge Historical Society president Belinda Crowson was invited to speak about the history of women from the community, and among them she shared the story of Ella Emma Dun.
Ella Emma Dunn was a black woman entrepreneur from the 1930’s and for several decades she owned the Hot Tamale Parlor and also ran a boarding house.
Emma’s parlor was open all night, a popular place to eat after a movie or dance or after the bars shut when other restaurants were closed. She ran the restaurant until 1943 and then at age 67 rather than retiring she opened a boarding house so that porters, mainly black porters working on the CPR who needed a place to stay, would have a house.
Emma also fostered several children of various cultural and ethnic groups and because she had faced racism and discrimination, she wanted to make sure her children were raised without it.
“This is a chamber event, so let’s focus on some women professionals and entrepreneurs. A few years ago someone mentioned to me that over 60 per cent of the downtown businesses were women owned and operated,” said Crowson.
Crowson said that while 50 per cent of the workforce is women, in downtown 60 per cent of the businesses are women operated so it made sense that the event took place in one.
“Not only did that make me want to support the downtown even more and support all businesses in Lethbridge but as a historian it immediately started me wondering how many women owned and operated businesses there had been throughout Lethbridge history,” said Crowson.
She started compiling biographies and information and to date she has 250 names of women who owned businesses prior to the Second World War.
“Women have always been part of the economic history of this community,” said Crowson.

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