Black History

Black History Month, Wellness and Healing Going Forward

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “Throughout history, Black people set out to build hospitals, medical and nursing schools, and community clinics, all through self-determination and social support initiatives. This, along with the doulas, birth workers, midwives, herbalists, and naturopaths throughout the African diaspora, acknowledges the legacy of Black scholars and practitioners in Western medicine,” said Pastor Rondall Leggett of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Marin City.

Published

3 years ago

February 25, 2022

Oakland Post

Lincoln School for Nurses in 1915. New York Public Library photo. Bottom left: Deacon Reginald Lyles of Allen Temple Baptist Church. Bottom right: Dr. John Henry Jordan, his wife, Mollie, and son, Edward. Image courtesy Karen Jordan.

By Godfrey Lee

This year’s Black History Month celebrations embraced the theme of Black health and wellness, including mental and spiritual health. “Throughout history, Black people set out to build hospitals, medical and nursing schools, and community clinics, all through self-determination and social support initiatives. This, along with the doulas, birth workers, midwives, herbalists, and naturopaths throughout the African diaspora, acknowledges the legacy of Black scholars and practitioners in Western medicine,” said Pastor Rondall Leggett of the First Missionary Baptist Church in Marin City.

Dr. John Henry Jordan and the Lincoln School for Nurses are two examples.

Jordan (1870-1912) was the first Black doctor and surgeon in Coweta County, Georgia. He built the first hospital for Blacks in Coweta County and organized a Medical Aid Organization in which he taught his patients about health and hygiene.

The Lincoln School for Nurses, founded in 1898 in Bronx, N.Y., was the first nursing school for Black women. A total of 1,864 Black nurses had graduated from the school when it closed in 1961.

There will be two events, both on Sunday, February 27, in Marin City that will close out the Black History Month’s celebrations in Marin City.

The first event will be the 10:15 a.m. service at the First Missionary Baptist Church (FMBC), located at 501 Drake Ave. in Marin City. Deacon Reginald Lyles, professor of Old Testament studies at the Leadership Institute at Allen Temple, will be giving his message. Lyles will be the last speaker in the FMBC’s series of messages on “Black Health and Wellness: Where Do We Go From Here?” which is based on I Thessalonians 5:23-24.

The Ministerial Alliance in Marin City will host a service, “Break The Silence – A Time of Hope and Healing Service” from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Cornerstone Community Church in Christ, located on 626 Drake Avenue in Marin City. The service will close out this year’s Black History Month programming in Marin City. Its purpose is to bring the community together and turn the pain of the past into purpose and power for the future.

The “Break the Silence’ Service is an in-person event in a COVID-19 friendly environment. You can also tune in through Facebook Livestream, or on Zoom, with the Zoom Meeting ID: 639 704 6444 and the password 944289.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Future Housing Sites on Agenda for March 1

Don't Miss

OPINION: Lakeview Tiny Homes in Oakland Are Segregated, Critic Says

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.