When Starr Hutchings Purdue's great-grandfather opened a funeral home in Macon, Georgia, in 1910, undertaking was a reliable way for Black Americans to make a living. Even the deceased were segregated. Owning a business enabled independence and freedom, says Purdue, 69: "You weren't relying on somebody else to provide your livelihood." Her parents carried on Hutchings Funeral Home and were successful enough to put Purdue and her five siblings through college, she says. Purdue now co-runs it