Holland, Helen Shelby

Helen Shelby was born in Hickman, KY; her family moved to South Bend, IN, in 1918. She graduated from Central High School in 1926, the same year that she was named Athlete of the Year.

Holland was the first African American salesperson employed by a major department store in South Bend. She was the wife of Burnsy Holland, a janitor in a department store.

For more see the Helen Holland entry in The Black Women in the Middle West Project, by D. C. Hine, et al.; and the Helen Holland Collection at Northern Indiana Historical Society.