Art of the Month

Nannie Helen Burroughs meets us at the intersection of gender, race, and profession. She was an educator, civil rights activists, feminist, and businesswoman.

Burroughs was born May 2, 1879, in Orange Virginia.  Her parents were formerly slaves, and her father was a farmer and Baptist preacher.  Her father died when she was young, so Burroughs and her mother moved to Washing DC.

She attended high school in DC where she met Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell, who were suffragists and civil rights activists.

After graduation she applied for a job with the District but could not get one because her skin was too dark. This set in her the determination to ensure women of her skin tone could improve their situation.

From 1898 to 1909 Burroughs went to work for the National Baptist Convention in Kentucky. She was one of the founders of the Women’s Convention and served as president for 13 years. She also found the National Training School in 1908 that provided evening classes for women who had no other means of education.

https://www.nps.gov/people/nannie-helen-burroughs.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannie_Helen_Burroughs

Affirmation

She had worked hard for an education during a time it was a hard won prize for African Americans.  When Nannie Helen Burroughs finished school and applied for teaching positions in the system that educated her, she was refused because of the color of her skin.  Her dark brown skin would relegate her to jobs as domestic servants.

She was determined to not let that happen. She set out for a life where she could teach and help other women in her place have a different future. Her determination changed lives.

Book of the Month

Dancing During the Storm is a collection of stories from projects that I have written over the years.  They represent a desire to praise God despite the storms in my life. As the saying goes, you are going into a storm, in the middle of a storm or coming out of a storm.  All of these stories tell of people who enjoy the life that God has given them and live it to the fullest.  Each character has a storm in their life which they are going into, in the midst of, or coming out of.

The first story is about the first man to ever encounter a storm and the impact on his life. 

The second story is about a court case that changed the lives of three of the women involved.  A Victim. A Juror. A Judge. The impact of the trial changed their thinking, yet prepared them for all that life threw at them.

The third and fourth story is a science fiction tale of the journey of a young woman who searched for peace and quiet after spending the last two years on a planet that had to resemble hell. As she emerged from the storms of her life, she saw that things were not as easy as she thought they would be.

The fifth story is another science fiction story that showed a divided world on the brink of war and two women meet to decide the fate of all the women on the planet. This meeting determined if it would either draw everyone together or increase the divide.  Would it be treason or slavery?

The sixth story two bullets changed the life of a man who had cruised through life on the back of rich parents and affluence.

Enjoy these fun, thought provoking stories, and hear the underlying intent.

You can purchase these at Amazon.com  and Books2read.com

Art of the Month

Nannie Helen Burroughs meets us at the intersection of gender, race, and profession. She was an educator, civil rights activists, feminist, and businesswoman.

Burroughs was born May 2, 1879, in Orange Virginia.  Her parents were formerly slaves, and her father was a farmer and Baptist preacher.  Her father died when she was young, so Burroughs and her mother moved to Washing DC.

She attended high school in DC where she met Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell, who were suffragists and civil rights activists.

After graduation she applied for a job with the District but could not get one because her skin was too dark. This set in her the determination to ensure women of her skin tone could improve their situation.

https://www.nps.gov/people/nannie-helen-burroughs.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannie_Helen_Burroughs

Affrimation

This month the word is Determination. It means a firmness pf purpose; resoluteness. This process of establishing something exactly by calculation or research. In order to accomplish some things one has to be determined.