Frankie Mae Bowman, age 94, of Oakland, California passed away on Tuesday, July 5, 2022. Frankie was born September 4, 1927 to Gladys and Frank McClain in Little Rock, Arkansas. Growing up in the segregated south, Frankie attended Dunbar High School where she was active in the Drama and Music Departments as both an actress and drummer. Frankie's mother remarried and moved the family to Pittsburg, Ca. in 1944 where she finished her senior year a Pittsburg High School.
An avid student, Frankie often told us that she was far ahead of her classmates at Pittsburg High School. Frankie enrolled in San Francisco State College and went on to receive a B. A. Degree from the University of California at Berkeley, as one of the handful of African American students that were allowed to enroll. That pursuit of equal opportunity and fierce confidence in her ability to rise above racial and gender biases would become a hallmark of Frankie's professional and personal life.
