Look to the Light Sisters

By Marian Olivia Heath Griffin

African American Women wish to tell their valuable authentic stories even when they are not perfect They leave their legacy of life as they helped to shape the American history, tradition, culture, economics and ideals. They have added much more and played a definitive role in shaping the growth and development of our nation. Their awe- inspiring achievements and accomplishments with intelligence, dignity and love have overcome incredible hardships and have had very little to sustained them but their faith, determination and courage. Many times they have set the standards for outstanding amazing stories of their own lives and enhanced the lives of others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jul 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984586056

Marian Olivia Heath Griffin

Marian Olivia Heath Griffin lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her husband of fifty-eight years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and College Administrator (retired) for thirty-six years, the last seven years as Director of International Student Affairs. After she retired from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she decided to utilize her degree in Mass Communication and Photography to tell her people’s stories and history. Griffin graduated from Delaware State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Psychology, a Master’s Degree program in Atlanta University School of Social Work, a Master’s Degree program at Gammon Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. She received her Master’s Degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Psychological Counseling and Social Work. She received a Master’s Degree in Educational Supervision and Mass Communication and Photography from Southern University. She did further study at Louisiana State University and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She studied Genealogy at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in Baton Rouge. She has traveled over the fifty states of the U.S. and six of the seven continents. She has written eighteen books in two years, published them with XLIBRIS and compiled and published two photo books with MYCANVAS BY ALEXANDER. She is proud of her three children: Rev. Bertrand, II (Rev. Kotosha Seals Griffin), Karen G. Phenix, (Keith Phenix) and Dr. Michael (Tracie Haydel Griffin). She adores her eight grandchildren: Nia, Kiara, Christian-Paris, Michael, II. Amelia-Grai, Victoria, Olivia and Sophia – all Griffins and one god-child, Whitney White, one great grandchild – Keomi Phenix, one great- godchild, Amelia Pleasant and her brother, Warren, six great- nieces, Whitney Foucheaux, Amoree Sanders, and Danee Heath, Tikia and Lentia Brown, and great nephews: Bobbie, Jr., Enrique and Alberto Garcia, Tyler Heath, Lauren and Kee Kee Dennis, Arshawon Brown (recently deceased), Willie, Jermaine. Brown, Michael Martin and sons, and Devonte Walker.

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Rev. date: 08/25/2020

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DEDICATION TO:

MY INCREDIBLE SISTER, NANCY

YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE

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Contents

Author’s Notes

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART ONE

AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

Chapter 1     Only Human

Chapter 2     Mary Elizabeth Bowser, Union Civil War Spy

Achievements Accomplishments

Mary Elizabeth Where Abouts Unknown

Mary Elizabeth Bowser Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

Chapter 3     Elizabeth Freeman, Activist And Abolitionist

Declaration Of Independence Written

End Of Slavery In Massachusetts

Achievement – The Case Of Brom And Bett V John Ashley, Esq.

Freedom At Last, Died A Free Woman

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 4     Sojourner Truth, Abolitionist, Preacher, Women’s Right Activist

Achievements And Accomplishments

Sojourner Truth Dictates Her Autobiography

Inducted Into Halls Of Fame

Chapter 5     Harriet Tubman, Moses Of Her People

Achievements Accomplishments

Tribute To Moses Of The People

Chapter 6     Kathryn Magnolia Johnson, NAACP Guru

Achievement – Early Recruiter For NAACP

Establishing Branches Of NAACP

Successful Campaigns For NAACP

Chapter 7     Ida B. Wells, Social Justice Activist And Crusader

Education

Campaign Against Lynching

A Hundred Women’s Clubs

Achievements And Accomplishments

Awards And Honors

Chapter 8     Sadie Mossell Alexander, Civil Rights Lawyer

Education

Achievements And Appointments

Distinctions And Awards

Chapter 9     Ella Josephine Baker, Pioneer In The Civil Rights Movement

Education

Young Negroes Cooperative League

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 10   Ruby Hurley, Regional Secretary For The NAACP

Appointments And Positions

Achievements And Honors

Chapter 11   Pauli Murray, Advocate For Women’s Rights, Attorney, Writer

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Published Author

Received An Appointment By Prsident John F. Kennedy

National Organization Of Women

Entered The Ministry

Murray’s Autibiography

Awards And Honors

Chapter 12   Fannie Lou Hamer, Civil Rights Activist

Worked With Voting Rights At Early Age

Attended The Democratic Convention In Atlantic City In 1964

Achievements And Accomplishments

Awards And Honors

Chapter 13   Diane Nash, Dedicater Of Equality And Justice

Transfrred Education

Lunch-Counter Sit-Ins

A Nonviolent Leader

Diane, A Spokesperson

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 14   Ethel L. Payne, Civil Rights Crusader

Education

Appointments And Accomplishments

Traveled With Secretary Of State, Henry Kissinger

Awards And Honors

PART TWO

PREACHERS & TEACHERS, AMERICA’S HEARTSTRINGS

Chapter 15   Humannes Our Offering To The World

Chapter 16   Sarah Mapps Douglass, Educator And Writer

Education

Association With White Quakers And Abolitionists

Achievements And Accomplishments

Health Education For Women

Chapter 17   Nancy V. Heath Kellam, Extraordinary Special Education Teacher

Nancy’s Love Of Trees

Education

4-H Club Achievements And Scholarship

High School Days

Achievements And Accomplishments.

Church & Community Achievements

Travels

Chapter 18   Anna Haywood Cooper, Teacher, Advocate For Black Women

Education

Author/Published

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 19   Joni Jenelle Roberts, Principal Extraordinaire

Education

Accomplishments And Achievements

Professional Experience

Professional Activities

Licensure

Chapter 20   Gloria Ann Heath-Martin, Teacher/Minister Extraordiniare

Education

Church Affiliation And Opportunities

Achievements And Opportunities

Awards And Honors

Chapter 21   Gayle Williams, Minister & Teacher Guru

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Call To Ministry

PART THREE

GREAT WOMEN AUTHORS, POETS & INTELLECTUALS

Chapter 22   Phyllis Wheatley, Slave Ship To Freedom Through Poetry

First Black Poet

Freedom With Poetry

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 23   Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Prominent African American Author

African American Women Speak

Women’s Era: Strong In A Love Of Justice

Achievements And Accomplishments

Social And Civic Organizations

Chapter 24   Maya Angelou, Great Poet And Writer

Maya’s Autobiography

Scholarship To A Local Theater Program

Achievements And Accomplishments

Author Of Best Sellers, Poetry

Northern Coordinator For The Southern Christian Leadership Confereice

Awards And Honorary Degrees

Chapter 25   Gwendolyn Brooks, Twentieth Century Poet And Author

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

We Be Cool

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 26   Juanita M. Dandridge: Dramatis Persona, Poet, Author & Motivational Speaker

An Author And Poet

Achievements And Accomplishments

Church And Civic Organizations

Juanita Dandridge’s Style Of Writing

PART FOUR

GREAT WOMEN SCIENTISTS, MATHEMATICIANS, DOCTORS

Chapter 27   Mary Jackon, Human Computer In NASA

A Human Computer Depected In Hidden Figures

West Area Human Computers

Achievements And Accomplishments

Chapter 28   Dorothy Johnson Vaughn, Mathematician & Human Computer

Education

Programming Data

Achievements And Accomplshments

Awards And Medals

Chats About Hidden Figures.

Chapter 29   Katherine Johnson, Human Computer At National Aeronautics And Space Administration

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Prestigious Honors And Awards

Chapter 30   Raye Montague, Renown Naval Engineer

Education

All Things Are Possible

Achievements And Accomplishments

Social And Civic Organizations

Awards And Honors

Chapter 31   Lovenia Deconge Watson, Greatest Mathematical Genius In The World

Education

Publications

Professional Organizations

Awards And Accomplishments

Church And Communitiy Activities

Travels

To Remember Me

Chapter 32   May E. Chinn, Physician And Researcher Of Cancer

Education

Contributions And Achievements

Awards And Recognitions

Chapter 33   Saundra Yancy Mcguire, PH.D Chemistry Educator & Learning Specialist

Education

Professional Appointments

Achievements And Accomplishments

She Received Lifetime Achievement Award, National Organization For The Professional Advancement Of Black Chemists And Chemical Engineers - NOBCCHE, (2014).

Social, Civic And Other Organizations

Honorary And Professional Organizations

Selected Publications

Chapter 34   Jane C. Wright, Pioneer In Chemotherapy Research

Education

Establishment Of The Cancer Research Center

Appointments And Leading Positions

PART FIVE

THE ARTS: MUSICIANS, SINGERS, ACTRESSES AND DANCERS

Chapter 35   Ma Rainey, Mother Of The Blues

Ma And Pa Rainey

ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Awards And Certificates

Chapter 36   Josephine Baker, Great Singer And Dancer

On To Paris And The Jazz Craze

World War II

Achievements And Awards

March On Washington

Chapter 37   Anne Brown, Originated The Role Of Bess In Porgy And Bess

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Outstanding Awards

Chapter 38   Lena Horne, Most Popular Entertainer Of The Twentieth Century

Education

Career Dynamics

Stormy Weather

Accomplishments And Achievements

Awards And Citations

Chapter 39   Nina Mae Mckinney, The Black Garbo: Actress, Singer & Dancer

Education

A Star Is Born

Accomplishments And Tributes

PART SIX

WOMEN IN BUSINESS, LAW AND ECONOMICS

Chapter 40   Byrolynn Lynn Belvitt, Business Guru Extraordinaire

Education

Accomplishments And Achievements

Social And Civic Organizations

Chapter 41   Constance Connie Hall, Volunteer Extraordinaire

Education

Achievements And Opportunities

President Of The Boosters Club

Awards And Certificates

Chapter 42   Sandra Temple Hall, Business Woman, Administrator And Educator

Education

Travels

Owner Of Maxima Industries

Church And Community Services

Accomplishments With Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated

Chapter 43   Marvis Henderson Lewis, Supervisor – Hearing Officer & Music Guru

Education

Experience And Accomplishments

Professional Achievements, Honors And Accomplishments In Music

Professional Memberships/ Organizations/ Credentials

Music Guru

Co-Author Of Studies And Research

Chapter 44   Janet Grace Nock Moreno, Fashion Design And Development Guru

Education

Accountablility And Responsibility

Genealogical Study

Chapter 45   Gwendolyn Jenkins Thomas, Chief Fiscal Officer, Louisiana National Resources Department

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Awards And Certificates

Leadership

PART SEVEN

AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN IN MILITARY SERVICE

Chapter 46   Charity Adams Earley - Army Major: Commanded Black Women’s Army Unit In World War II

Education

Achievements And Accomplishments

Community Services

Published Her Memoir

Awards And Recognition

Conclusion

How Long ! How Long, Lord.

Bibliography

Reference Books

My Personal References

AUTHOR’S NOTES

A T THE BEGINNING of life, we all have or should have hope and optimism for our future. Whatever we are as human beings, we should have hope. We are all important to God. Black women are important, their lives are important. They should not be ignored or put down.

When I was three years old, I knew what it meant to be frightened of the dark. When I awakened in the middle of the night, sometimes from a bad dream, I would frightfully run to my mother’s room to feel the warmth and strength of her loving arms.

Both of our bedrooms were dark, but there was a good feeling that would come over me when I was near my mother.

She always said, Don’t be afraid. Look to the light.

She began to tell me, Look out the window and see the moon and the stars. There is always light. You just have to look for it. There is always a crack where you can see light.

These statements have carried me through many trials and tribulations, joy and happiness. I learned at an early age to have faith and pray.

Later I learned that in Him there is no darkness. I learned that there is victory and success and triumph in darkness. You are gaining trust and faith in God through darkness.

Even in our humanness, we can see that the darkest hour is just before dawn. At the last second of darkness, there is a beacon of light.

Elisa Morgan said in OUR DAILY BREAD, Gazing only at the core of our fallen hearts, it’s tempting to distain our human status. But what if we consider our humanness to be part of our offering in this world?

Jesus teaches us how to be fully human, as servants recognizing we are all the same. Human is how God made us, created in His image and redeemed by his unconditional love." (p. 25.)

I was very dependent upon my mother. What I didn’t realize until my mother died that she was dependent upon me. I graduated from college in the spring that my mother passed away. She died on January 30, 1961. I graduated on May 15, 1961. I was inconsolable at my graduation.

Mother had very much wanted to see me march down the aisle and get my diploma. I sang in the choir for four years at college, sometimes, solos. My last engagement to sing at was my graduation. I sang the solo part of Handel’s Messiah, He Shall Feed His Flock, Like a Shepherd.

When I finished, I couldn’t see, because I was blinded by tears. My roommate who also sang in the choir, helped me to my seat.

She whispered to me, Why are you crying so hard?

As I sat through the graduation ceremony, I began to pray. Then hope sustained me. I knew my mother was with me, as she and God were holding hands, giving me hope, comfort, courage and strength.

Michelle Obama, in her book, BECOMING, denoted, "A transition is exactly that, a passage to something new.

For me, she said, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion. A means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end. I am now at a new beginning, a new phase of life. (p. 418.)

Michelle Obama said, I continue to adapt to and are humbled by what it means to truly love others; I have become by certain measures, a person of power, and yet there are moments when I feel insecure or unheard. It’s all a process, steps along a path. BECOMING requires equal parts – patience and rigor. BECOMING is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to do. (p. 419.)

At my graduation, when I was able to answer my roommate’s question, I said, My Mother is not here.

Sometimes when all seems lost, we echo the words of the psalmist "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? (Psalm 22:1, NIV.)

God answered Jesus as he hung on the cross. It is finished, Jesus said.

Then God raised Jesus to life.

The only thing that would deliver us from the pain that we were suffering at that time was hope that God would answer our desperate cry for help. I began repeating The Twenty-Third Psalm (The Lord is my Shepherd) and have repeated it every day since that fateful day at my graduation, sixty years ago.

As I walk pass my message board, I glance as usual at my mother’s picture. A picture of Mother was made when she went to the Atlantic City, New Jersey beach when we were children. She went with her Home Demonstration Club, no kids allowed.

These ladies took a group picture of the Club and individual pictures. I still have the picture of Mother.

Once and awhile one of the varieties of pain will catch me when I look at my mother’s picture.

Sometimes, I just want to scream, but instead I find silent tears rolling down my cheeks. For years and years, I woke up crying on the day my mother died. I ran to the bathroom so my husband would not see tears slipping down my cheeks. I needed to learn how to work with it and live with it. Impossible!

Mary Jane Worden, made a statement in WOMEN’S DEVOTIONAL BIBLE, called Night Weeping,

One big component of the pain of losing someone is fear, she said. Fear that this experience of pain may not be momentary but might settle down on me as a permanent condition, an incurable disease, an overwhelming and unmovable cloud. This time, it’s got me and it may never let me go. I needed to keep reminding myself, in the midst of the pain, that I can acknowledge it and give in to it because it isn’t a life sentence. (p. 574.)

"Weeping may remain for a night,

But joy come in the morning." (Psalm 30:5, NIV.)

The New Testament in Matthew states:

"Blessed are those who mourn,

For they will be comforted." (Matthew 5: 4, NIV.)

I am sitting in my home on June 4, 2020, watching a funeral procession on television. Thousands and thousands of people are outside of the University of Minneapolis as the family of George Floyd sits inside to mourn his death. The Eulogy is being preached by Rev. Al Sharpton: Get your knee off my neck, he said to the audience.

George Floyd, a black man, was killed by four white police men. The lead killer police man had his knee on George Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and forty-six seconds which killed George.

All fifty states in the United States of America have their streets crowded with people of all races for nine days and nights. (I didn’t know I would be writing something this drastic today on June 4, 2020.

This is a strange and horrendous time; an uncertain century.

Robin D. Kelley describes in her book TO MAKE OUR WORLD ANEW, that "During the first half of the sixteenth century, while men (Gomez and Esteban) encountered the wilderness of America, Europe was shaken by a religious upheaval.

The disruption was so large that its shock waves had a lasting influence on all parts of the Atlantic world, including Africa and North America. Members of Europe’s Catholic church led by German minister, Martin Luther, protested against practices of the established priesthood and challenged the authority of the Pope.

These dissenters, called Protestants, broke away from the Catholic church in Rome and organized their own Christian churches. Their mass movement aiming to reform Christianity to a simpler purer pattern of earlier times became known as the Reformation.

There were more than religious motivations for defying papal power in Rome. The Catholic church was also a major economic and political force across Europe. Its large cathedrals and numerous monasteries made it a dominant landholder throughout the continent and the Catholic Authorities supported and benefited from the enormous spoils that flowed to Europe as a result of Spanish conquest in the New World. (p. 58.)

After reading this passage and seeing the week’s drastic movement of young people in the streets of America, not to mention the Coronavirus, a pandemic, still raging in the nations, I felt a conjoining of these two eras.

Oftentimes we have to look back before we can move forward because history will repeat itself, I told my grandchildren.

Are we heading for a strange new world or a repeat of many generations of denial of justice to African Americans and a continuation of disenfranchisement that characterizes our lack of freedom and opportunity? I stated.

There were many persons who struggled in the name of freedom; and this continues to be the theme of the periods of African American history. We continue to fight against a modern- day slavery, the struggle to be free American citizens, despite incredible odds to maintain human dignity in the face of overwhelming inhumanity. (Kelley, p 169.)

Oral tradition in my family was to pray each day and learn scriptures. I grew up in a home and culture of giving service to others and praying morning, noon and night for God’s grace for myself and all others. I learned to say The Lord is My Shepherd sitting on my mother’s knees in the moonlight shining from my window and have not departed from it.

A