Years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus – in defiance of Jim Crow racial segregation laws in 1955, helping spark the nationwide Civil Rights Movement – Black women in Omaha were already taking a stand against racism.

Among them stood Bertha Calloway. You may have driven on a portion of Lake Street named in her honor, from 22nd to 24th, in an historic Black district, once a notable jazz mecca, comparable to the Harlem Heydays, on a smaller scale, back in the 1920s and ‘30s.

While most people look at an ear of corn and wonder how it may taste, Tammy Zentic looks at it and wonders how the kernels will look as a necklace or bracelet. 

Zentic, a retired Fremont, Nebraska, teacher turned to creating jewelry from corn as a side gig about seven years ago. Z Harvest Gems, as her business is known, can be found at farmers’ markets around the Omaha Metro, as well as boutiques and museums, including the Joslyn. 

She started making corn jewelry while teaching, but the business took off after she retired. 

In keeping with National Law Day’s theme, “The American Dream,” here is one family fulfilling the ideals our Forefathers envisioned, helping make life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – even more attainable for others, by defending our Constitutional rights.

One could say it’s all in the family for this multi-generation of Omaha lawyers, who epitomize The American Dream – to be all you can be – regardless of station in life.