Dorothea Church

**Cocin Dorothea Towles** (an haife ta a **Dorthy Mae Towles** ; 26 ga Yulin shekarar 1922 &#x2013; 7 ga Yuli, 2006) ita ce ta farko da ta yi nasara a cikin ƙirar baƙar fata a Paris . 

## Rayuwa ta farko
An haifi Dorthy Mae Towles, kamar yadda aka rubuta sunanta a takardar shaidar haihuwarta,  a Texarkana, Texas . 'Yar Thomas Elsworth Towles ce, wanda a lokacin makaniki ne, da matarsa, tsohuwar Anabella Clark.  'Yan uwanta su ne: Thomas, Henry, Lois (wanda ya zama sanannen mai buga piano a duniya), Verna, Golden, da Marian. 

## Ilimi
Ta halarci makarantar sakandare ta Paul Laurence Dunbar a Texarkana, sannan kuma Kwalejin Wiley a Marshall, Texas, inda ta sami digiri na farko a ilmin halitta da pre-med, ta kammala karatun cum laude.

A shekarar 1943, bayan rasuwar mahaifiyarta, ta koma Los Angeles, California, don zama tare da Dr. Henry H. Towles (1888 &#x2013; 1965), fitacciyar likita kuma mai saka hannun jari a harkokin gidaje, da matarsa Ruth. A can ta yi aiki a matsayin magatakarda, sakatare, da kuma mai karɓar kuɗi, har zuwa 1945, lokacin da ta fara koyar da ilmin halittu da wasan kwaikwayo a Makarantar Sakandare ta Jefferson da ke Los Angeles; ta kuma koyar, a 1946, a Makarantar Holmes Avenue.

A lokacin bazara na shekarar 1945, ta yi rajista a Jami'ar Kudancin California, inda ta yi karatun wasan kwaikwayo da jawabi a ƙarƙashin William DeMille. Ta kuma fara zuwa Makarantar Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling kuma ita ce ɗaliba baƙar fata ta farko a can.  A shekarar 1948 ta fara karatun digirinta na biyu a fannin kimiyya a Jami'ar Kudancin California, inda ta kasance memba a ƙungiyar mata baƙar fata Alpha Kappa Alpha . 

## Aikin tallan kayan kawa
Baya ga aikinta na malamar makaranta a shekarun 1940, Church ta fara fitowa a wasannin sadaka na kayan kwalliya a gabar tekun yamma, wanda ta kuma horar da masu zane-zane.

Ƴar uwarta Lois Towles, wacce daga baya ta shahara wajen buga piano a cikin kade-kade, ta rera waƙa a cikin ƙungiyar mawaƙan kaɗe-kaɗe ta Jami'ar Fisk a lokacin rangadin Turai a 1949, kuma Church, tare da mijinta Dr. Nathaniel Fearonce, sun bi ta hutun watanni biyu. Yayin da take Paris, Church ta yanke shawarar gwada wasu ayyukan tallan kayan kade-kade. Christian Dior ta ɗauke ta aiki don maye gurbin ɗaya daga cikin samfuransa na yau da kullun wanda ke hutu.  Aikinta tare da Dior ya sa ta shafe shekaru biyar masu zuwa a Faransa, tana yin tallan kayan kade-kade ga Jacques Fath, Elsa Schiaparelli, Pierre Balmain, da Robert Piguet .  A watan Afrilun 1953, ta kasance a kan murfin *Jet ,* wata mujallar Baƙar fata-Amurka. 

A shekarar 1954 ta koma Amurka . Duk da nasarar da ta samu a Turai, ta sha wahala wajen neman aiki a Amurka yayin da masu zane-zane suka ƙi ɗaukar baƙar fata mai tallan kayan ado.  Ta fara rangadin kwalejojin baƙar fata, tana nuna tarin kayan kwalliyar haute na Paris. Nunin kayan kwalliyarta ya kasance masu tara kuɗi ga ƙungiyar da ta fito, Alpha Kappa Alpha.

Daga baya ta sanya hannu a matsayin mai ƙira da kamfanin Grace del Marco da ke birnin New York kuma ta yi aiki a matsayin mai sharhi kan kayan kwalliya a gidan rediyon WOV. 

## Shingayen launin fata
Church ta tuna da abin da ya faru da ita a birnin Paris a farkon shekarun 1950 a wata hira da ta yi da *mujallar Women's Wear Daily a* shekarar 2004: "A da ba a ɗauke ni a matsayin baƙar fata, Baƙar fata ko Baƙar fata ba. Ni ɗan Amurka ne kawai." Kamfanin kayan kwalliya na Faransa "ya yi maka kamar sarauniya," in ji ta. 

A cikin littafinta na 1998 *mai suna Black and Beautiful*,  marubuciya Barbara Summers ta ambaci Church game da matsayinta na shahara a Paris a farkon shekarun 1950: "A koyaushe ana gayyace ni. Ni kaɗai ce baƙar fata mai ƙira a Turai kuma kawai na yi tunanin ni mutum ce ta duniya." 

Duk da haka, lokacin da Church ya koma Amurka, Pierre Balmain bai bar ta ta aro zane-zanensa don ɗaukar fim ɗin *Ebony Magazine* ba saboda damuwa cewa fararen abokan cinikinsa za su yi fushi kuma masu karanta mujallar ba za su yi sha'awar siyan abubuwan da Balmain ya ƙirƙira ba.  Saboda haka ta ji an karɓe ta a al'adun Paris da masana'antar yin tallan kayayyaki idan aka kwatanta da na Amurka. 

Dorothea ta kasance samfurin baƙar fata mai nasara a cikin masana'antu, da kuma zamani, wanda ke wakiltar kyau ta hanyar amfani da fararen samfura.  Norma Jean Darden ta ba da labarin nasarar Dorothea, da kuma iyawarta na karya shingen launin fata a masana'antar yin tallan kayan kawa a wancan lokacin.

## Aure
Cocin ta yi aure sau biyu, mazanta kuma:

* Dr. Nathaniel Alfonso Fearonce (1903–1966), fitaccen likitan haƙori, a matsayin matarsa ta biyu. An yi aurensu a gidan kawunta da ke Los Angeles, California, a ranar 24 ga Agusta, 1947.  Ta wannan auren, tana da ɗa ɗaya, Nathaniel Alfonso Fearonce, Jr. Mijinta ya kai ƙarar saki a shekarar 1950. 
* Cocin Thomas Ayres (ya mutu a shekara ta 2000), lauyan Sashen Shari'a wanda ya kware a fannin shige da fice na ƙasar Sin; ɗan uwan mai fafutukar kare haƙƙin jama'a Mary Church Terrell ne . An yi aurensu a wani bikin farar hula a birnin New York, New York, a ranar 5 ga Yuli, 1962, da kuma wani bikin addini a birnin Paris, Faransa, a ranar 10 ga Disamba, 1962.  Suna da ɗa ɗaya, Thomas Ayres Church Jr.

A shekarar 1953, an sanar da aniyar aurenta da wani ɗalibi a fannin shari'a a Detroit, Edward Bell. An dakatar da aniyar auren watanni da dama bayan haka, a wani rahoto da aka buga a mujallar Jet, "ba ta yarda ta bar aikinta na tallan kayan kawa bayan auren ba don ta zauna a gida ta yi abubuwan da ya kamata matar aure ta yi".

## Mutuwa
Cocin ta rasu tana da shekaru 83 a Cibiyar Asibitin St. Luke's-Roosevelt da ke birnin New York . Mutuwarta an danganta ta da cututtukan zuciya da koda.

## Gado
An nuna ta a baje kolin *Black Style Now*, wanda aka buɗe a ranar 9 ga Satumba, 2006, a Gidan Tarihi na Birnin New York . 

Thomas Church da ɗan Dorothea, Thomas, sun tsira daga gare su. 

## Manazarta