In 2017, I stumbled across an article about a statue of a physician named J. Marion Sims, who had lived and practiced medicine in Alabama and New York in the mid-19th century. Dr. Sims has been recognized as the “father of modern gynecology,” credited with having developed the speculum and other instruments now commonly used in the care of women. Sims was also credited with the pioneering the surgical repair of the vesicovaginal fistula, a condition in which a delivering... Read more
Thursday, February 1, 1968 was a cold, rainy day. Memphis sanitation workers Echol Cole and Robert Walker likely considered themselves fortunate that day, despite the cold rain: They were at least working, and getting paid. Memphis’ black sanitation workers could be sent home on rainy days – and if they weren’t working their regular garbage routes, they wouldn’t be paid for the day. But that day, the truck from which Cole and Walker were working was rolling through a... Read more
People often ask me why I’m not a fan of Black History Month. My explanation is simple: It’s impossible to compress the history, contributions and accomplishments of people whose lives are inextricably linked with this soil on which we’ve lived for 400 years in 28 days. It is also impossible to tell the history of black persons in this country without telling the story of all of us – black and white. Our history, since slavery, is shared and intertwined.... Read more
Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, ‘I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.’ 2Next she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for... Read more
As we pause to celebrate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we celebrate the many accomplishments and achievements in the life of an extraordinary leader. We celebrate – that, as a prodigious student, he had already, at age 17, written a letter to the editor of the Atlanta Constitution newspaper – which was published – stating that Black persons were “entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens”; that he was graduated from... Read more
What do two “prostitutes,” a “stripper,” an “adulteress” and a young unwed pregnant woman have to do with Jesus? The inclusion of the five women in Matthew’s genealogy – especially four Gentile women – sets the stage for Matthew’s inclusive message, which culminates with the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, in which the risen Jesus instructs the disciples to “make disciples of all nations.” The Gospel of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, effectively serves as a... Read more
Growing up in a Christian denomination in which the scriptural stories of women were never taught or preached, I had no understanding of the presence or importance of women in the sweep of Biblical history – save, of course, Mary, Mother of Jesus, who was celebrated and revered for being virginal, pure and submissive to the will of God, a model for all women. I was a young adult when I first encountered the story of the hemorrhaging woman, as... Read more
It was the calm in the midst of the storm. That’s how historians describe the truce that took place in the early hours of Christmas Day, in 1914. Europe was five months into a war, the likes of which had never been seen. And although then-Pope Benedict XV had recommended that the warring nations call a cease-fire in this first World War in order to celebrate Christ’s birth, no such official act was to take place. But letters and other... Read more
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