I’ve been blessed to have grown up surrounded by an amazing group of women! All, who in their own little way, paved the future for me…sometimes unbeknownst to them. Women, like my mother, my sisters, my cousins and my aunts. I shared with you a few weeks ago about my lovely mother, who was one of my greatest teachers/heroins. As we’ve closed out another “Black History Month”, it would be remiss of me to not mention a woman who was a true trailblazer, not only for myself, but for the nation. Yes, I said the nation! I don’t know what it is about the women in my family, but they never felt the need to brag on themselves, they never tooted their own horn and they never put the spotlight on themselves. I guess my job is to do it for them! This post is dedicated to my aunt Sarah Mae Flemming-Brown(my dad’s oldest sister), whom we affectionately called “Aunt Kitty”, she was truly our family heroin, a trailblazer in her own right! Here’s her story……….

Civil Rights Leader

Sarah Mae Flemming, the forerunner of Rosa Parks, for many years remained an unsung hero in the annals of civil rights. It was a little-publicized civil-rights case involving public transportation in Columbia, SC that helped Rosa Parks and her lawyers prevail in a lawsuit challenging segregation on buses in Montgomery, Alabama…this case became the Flemming legacy.

Flemming was born on June 28th, 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression, the eldest of Mack and Rosetta Flemming’s seven children. The granddaughter of slaves, Flemming grew up on her family’s own land – 130 acres, five miles north of what is now downtown Eastover. She would eventually die of a heart attack on that same land, just shy of her 60th birthday.

Flemming slipped into history the morning of June 22, 1954 when she, a black maid, took a front seat on the then segregated city bus operated by South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G). The line dividing the races on South Carolina buses served as one of the most visible daily reminders of segregation. Enforced by bus drivers vested with the powers of a deputy sheriff, the line was inscribed into a body of state laws that had for three generations separated blacks and whites. On Columbia buses, the color line shifted, depending on whether more black or white people were riding. One thing remained firm- whites never sat behind blacks.

On that historic morning Flemming took a seat in what she deemed an appropriate area.
After taking her seat, a white Columbia bus driver humiliated the 20 year old black woman from Eastover, blocking her with his arm and accusing her of sitting in the “whites-only” part of the bus. She was ordered by the bus driver to give up her seat in the front of the bus. She refused and the bus driver called the police. Sarah was arrested and subsequently sued South Carolina Electric and Gas, the owners and operators of the bus system in Columbia. She also claimed that she was hit by the driver as she exited the bus. This incident, occurring 17 months before Rosa Parks took her stand against segregation on city buses in Montgomery, Alabama- Flemming challenged segregation on SCE&G buses in Columbia. Sarah Mae did not reach the fame of Mrs. Parks, but she did find success in her fight for equality for African Americans and all citizens of the United States.

Sarah Fleming claimed her rights under the fourteenth amendment of the United States constitution had been violated by the driver’s actions. The 14th Amendment states that any person born in the United States is automatically a citizen of this country. This amendment states all citizens have the right to due process under the law and gives all citizens equal protection. It goes on to state that no citizen should be deprived of their life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness.

Phillip Whittenburg, a young white lawyer, originally took the case. Later he was joined by Thurgood Marshall and Matthew Perry. The NAACP sponsored the suit on behalf of Mrs. Fleming. Although the US Supreme Court had already ruled that segregation on city buses was against the law, the South Carolina Public Service Commission decided to uphold the South Carolina state law which supported segregation. The Fleming case was brought before Justice Timmerman, the judge for the eastern district of South Carolina, on February 16, 1955. Although the suit was based on the same principles as that of Brown v. Board of Education, which ruled that separate was not inherently equal, the judgment declared that Fleming’s claim failed to meet the requirements for relief and the case was dismissed. Justice Timmerman put forth that the Plessy v. Ferguson decision held that separation on public transportation was legal. The fight for equality on South Carolina buses did not end there.

Mrs. Fleming, the NAACP, and her lawyers appealed the ruling and the decision was reversed. The State Court of Appeals stated in their December 14, 1955 decision that Brown vs. Board did indeed cross all levels of society, including public transportation. The justices stated that “separate but equal” could not be fair and equal treatment of citizens in the United States. This outcome was not the end of the road however, as South Carolina Electric and Gas appealed the State Court’s decision. The US Court of Appeals Fourth Circuit dismissed the appeal on April 23, 1956 and the US Supreme Court upheld the Appeals Court decisions on November 29, 1956. The ruling was widely ignored, but is cited in the decision on the far-better publicized Rosa Parks case – which led to the end of segregated buses.

In 1955, Flemming’s win in court was big news in black newspapers across the country. The bigger news is that this young woman, in the face of southern Jim Crow politics took a step that forever changed the face of civil rights in the South.

An amazing story isn’t it? I think the MOST amazing thing is that I didn’t even know about any of this until after my aunt passed away, by the way, I was married with children of my own! I told you that the women in my family didn’t toot their own horn, but really Aunt Kitty, you never even mentioned this story not once…go figure, lol! And yes, that was THE Thurgood Marshall, first African-American Supreme Court justice, who was one of my aunt’s lawyers. As you can imagine, I am one proud niece. Her story sounds like a scene from the movie “The Help”. Hey I may someday write a screenplay, who knows! She is definitely our family heroine, a true inspiration, one of many who silently fought behind the scenes so we ALL could have equality. Thank you Aunt Kitty for trailblazing the way by showing us all how to do ourselves well! A big horn toot for you!!

*Excerpts taken from “South Carolina African-American Calendar” and “Teaching American History in South Carolina”

Who in your life has been an inspiration and heroin/hero to you?

Having a blast serving Him !

xoxoxo
Michell @Prowess and Pearls

There are several women’s events in Buffalo, NY throughout the year to support women and their role in the community. During the month of March we are fortunate to have numerous groups sponsoring events throughout our Western New York area. For more informations on these events go to: www.BuffaloLib.org, www.womeneventsbuffalo.com

On December 1, 2012 TEDxBuffaloWomen (www.tedxbuffalowomen.com) participated in TEDxWomen—The Space Between (http://tedxwomen.org), a national event promoting women and their talents, to spread more ideas and stories of women and girls. TED ~ Ideas Worth Spreading ~ The TED site provides great talks to stir your curiosity. Check out the fantastic Buffalo ladies who contributed to this wonderful event and let them inspire you!

On March 1, 2013 Erie County Commission on the Status of Women, Insight, Buffalo & Erie County Public Library, Women Elect, and Women On The Rise kicked off Women’s History Month by inviting women leaders from a variety of organizations across WNY to a casual mingle where they could collaborate, connect and find inspiration.

On March 26,2013 the Communication and Leadership program at Canisius College is hosting a screening of Miss Representation, the 2011 award-winning documentary that exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. For more information: http://www.canisius.edu/communication-leadership/events/miss-representation/index.dot

Check out all these great links for some INSPIRATION and pay-it-foward!

MakeBeliefsComix.com has published a special free printable for Women’s History Month at http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Printables/print.php?category=Featured&file=465_Print.GIF

It asks: Imagine that you could talk with any woman in history whom you admire. Who would that be and what would you say to her.

You are welcome to print it out and also pin it on your Pinterest page. Hope you will share with your students.

SHEnergy Motivational Networking Tour is an amazing women’s empowerment and networking experience.  SHEnergize! Tallahassee will infuse education and motivation into the lives of women to spark the desire to do more and be more!  Shenergize your dreams and turn them into reality!   Saturday, March 23, 2013, Tallahassee Community College, Student Union Ballroom.  Doors open at 8 AM for networking and shopping; seminar begins at 10 AM.

Visit Shenergize.com for more information.  Text SHENERGIZE to 22828 to join our mailing list.

Are you the leader of a local women’s organization in the Tallahassee area? If so, contact us to discuss the possibility of partnering with SHEnergy for this event.

katbrandon@live.com

I once found myself in a heated discussion with a former teacher about why women’s accomplishments were rarely taught in school and he snapped, “Well, nearly every major achievement for mankind was developed by a man. Think about it.”

As a budding feminist I understood what he said was sexist, what left me speechless was my inability to determine what constituted as a women’s achievement for humankind. Women’s History Month had been a recent addition to education when I graduated from high school so the only women I knew enough about to speak on were the two that Black History Month taught me, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks and the one female poet I could remember Emily Dickenson. And how a poet contributed to the success of a society, I had no idea.

My educational hierarchy was the use of wars as a framework for history, artists without muses, founding fathers, male inventors, pilgrims and Indians, men without children and presidents. The only mother I heard anything about was mommy dearest and I believed that the only political role a woman could achieve was best dressed First Lady or be a virginal teenager with serious monarchial connections. I was taught to grammatically default to the masculine form. So councilman, fireman, policeman were all considered gender neutral despite the illogicality of it. When I did find myself praying for a miracle, I even prayed to a male deity.

Thankfully feminism came to the rescue and rewarded me with Maria Celeste Galilei, Eleanor Roosevelt, Temple Grandin, Shirley Chisholm, the Cone sisters,Abigail Adams and Clara Barton. But typing the words US History into Google tonight revealed not much has changed in the teaching of history in schools over the last 20 years. Much more needs to be done if our children are going to recognize that Camille Claudel is synonymous with Auguste Rodin, Marie and Irene Curie are mother-daughter Nobel Prize winners and Hedy Lamarr was more than just a great beauty.

Women’s History Month gives children the right to their maternalistic inheritance and is a reminder to the world that women are invaluable to humankind.

Just in time for Women’s History Month, a new website summarizing the 30-year history of women firefighters in the New York City Fire Department.  Check it out and pass it on.

http://www.laborarts.org/exhibits/womenfirefighters/

DETROIT—Imagine, yes imagine, yourself suddenly thrust into the Pop-Culture world of the Planted Kingdom; and the featured news of the day hails from the syndicated Fertilizer Files of news correspondent Mrs. Brown. Fluent in Vegetable linguistics, Mrs. Brown is on special assignment for the most prestigious Planted Kingdom news mediums and journals including, but notwithstanding, The Planted Globe, The Wallflower Journal and The New Stalk Times. If your interest has indeed been piqued, then you would be remiss if you don’t allow yourself to be privy to the creative-genius and theatrical performance of poet-artiste Semaj Brown.

Semaj will be featured in a One Woman Show, entitled Onion Revolt!, sponsored by the Detroit-based Broadside Press Poets Threatre. Curtain call is at 3 p.m., February 17, 2013, University of Detroit Mercy, Grounds Coffee House, at 4001 W. McNichols, Detroit, MI. Known in the past for her jazz-funk-fusion floetry style, the author, educator and poet–extraordinaire- a Broadside Press Progeny- returns home to Detroit after a decade.
This astonishingly-creative One Woman Show, Onion Revolt! is unparalleled as it is an off-shoot of Feasts and Fables of the Planted Kingdom, a story cookbook and CD series, published by Flint, Michigan-based Health Collectors LLC. The story cookbook, written by Semaj Brown, is a fictional-world where food and fantasy meet. It is a unique work where whimsey spills over into reality, creating a great recipe and platform to raise the awareness of event patrons and encourage them to explore the healthy benefits of eating vegetables and fruits as well as improve their overall well-being. Sounds exciting? Well, it is!
In this Fertilizer File, which takes place on Scallion Row, The Onions in The Garden have staged a revolt because they have a beef with the Culinary Eats Industry. They kidnap Mrs. Brown on location and hold her hostage, only to have their manifesto read because they’ve been stereotyped far too long as mere food- enhancers.
Semaj has clearly taken her craft to the next level, by employing personification to fruits and vegetables in a clever, theatrical and animated way. Interlaced in each fable is an important moral that surprisingly ends with two plant-based recipes, and Mrs. Brown echoing her catch phrase: “And that is what’s for dinner!” The poet, educator and entertainer said her motivation stems from her love and devotion for a community suffering from obesity, and her desire to keep herself and husband Dr. James Brown, M.D., in good health. Semaj and Dr. Brown, who is a board-certified Family Physician and motivational speaker, together create healthy living Planted Kingdom Events. Dr. Brown’s authoritative vocals are also featured in the Fertilizer Files as broadcast announcer Stalk Cutright.
Semaj offers her take on this innovative work: “Food is social, political, historical, and spiritual: it is art, it is science, it is fun,” she said. “To be fully alive, completely realized, one must eat that which is alive, and thus life sustaining. This is obtainable! Just as every butterfly identifies its flower in search of nectar, we as people must establish “dis-pa” …a discriminating-palate.”
Together Dr. Brown and Semaj co-founded Health Collectors LLC which combines science and art applications to break through the sometimes impenetrable barriers of negative lifestyles. Semaj has lost 100 pounds and is the architect of Mrs. Brown’s Butterfly Building: An Innovative Lifestyle Change Program For Women.
To book a performance in your venue, or find out more about One Woman Show, Onion Revolt!, please contact Rhonda Rudd, at 248-850-6717 or email her at mrsrhondarudd1@yahoo.com. Feasts and Fables from the Planted Kingdom: A Story Cookbook and CD are available on amazon.com. The audio version: CD and MP3 downloads and listening clips are available on cdbaby.com or cdbaby.com/cd/semajbrown. The CD is engineered by Jean Lumetta. The Planted Kingdom Players: are Dr. James Brown, M.D. as Stalk Cutright and opera singer Denise Millhollen. Sandra Hines is the director of the one woman Performance, Onion Revolt! A 45 minute adaptation from the Story Cookbook in which Semaj plays 14 different vegetable characters! Books and CDs will be available for purchase and signing at the event.

Celebrate Women’s History Month on March 6, 1-2 p.m., with our free webcast, Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies, for students in grades 9-12.

Cokie Roberts hosts this fascinating discussion of the struggles to establish a nation as seen through the eyes of our nation’s first First Ladies: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison.

Share their behind-the-scenes insights into the challenges faced by their husbands, as well as learn about the often overlooked contributions of these essential founding mothers.  Register for viewing information at http://www.fcps.edu/fairfaxnetwork/registration/registration.html

Mary Baker Eddy was no ordinary woman. Behind her Victorian-era velvet and lace dress was a 21st century power suit. At a time when women could not vote, rarely preached from a pulpit or took part in medical professions, Eddy’s work in the healthcare arena broke through the glass ceiling that had yet to become a metaphor. Her ideas as an author, pastor, teacher, and healer charted the path for current thought on consciousness and health today. And in more ways than one, they still lead the way.

After a series of disappointments, including the passing of her first husband and the eventual desertion of her second, Eddy was mid-life and suffering from her own chronic ill-health. This prompted her to investigate alternative healthcare methods, rather than resorting to the harsh treatments and side-effects of conventional 19th-century medicine. She tried diets, hydropathy, homeopathy and what are now known as placebo treatments–and she found some relief. But her most important conclusion from all of her investigations was that what a patient believes is directly related to the healing results they see.

It was a nearly fatal experience in February of 1866 that pushed her one step further in her investigations. A fall on the ice that resulted in internal injuries left her lying in her home with her doctor, family, and friends counting the hours. Deeply religious, and with nowhere else to turn, Eddy opened her Bible to one of Jesus’ healings. Instead of dying, she recovered almost immediately, much to her doctor’s disbelief. And she was left wondering just what exactly had happened?

She spent the next nine years looking for answers to that question.

Her findings led her to test her conclusions. Often she took patients who had been given up by their doctors. She healed a man, Mr. Clark, who suffered from a hip disease since he was a child. The doctor even showed her the evidence of the diseased hip and declared his patient was dying. But after Eddy’s treatment, he recovered completely and was back at work in two week’s time. (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 192.)

Another time she was called to the bedside of Mrs. Gale, who was dying of pneumonia. Eddy healed her on the spot with her physicians standing by. One of them, Dr. Davis, asked her how she healed and encouraged her to write her findings in a book. (Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Healer, Amplified Edition, pp. 77-78).

She named her discovery Christian Science and began teaching others how to heal as well. And she followed through on Dr. Davis’ advice to write a book. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures became an international best-seller and a leading source on the subject of consciousness, spirituality, and health.

By: Ingrid Peschke