Dr. Donna: The Girlfriend's GYN

Our conversation with WRDW raised some additional perspectives to consider.

After 2 years, impact still lingers on Roe vs. Wade overturn Two years ago, in a landmark decision, Roe vs. Wade (1973) was overturned in the United States Supreme Court.

ICYMI: Here is the link to this very spirited discussion with Tavis on an extremely important issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03PhyEt0VB0&list=PLJ7tIvmtJ5s8q5o4MKHFNZRt_5nVs7ISM&index=1

Join us tonight for a riveting discussion with Roland Martin

https://www.facebook.com/rolandsmartinfanpage 6 PM EST

Roland Martin Roland S. Martin is host and managing editor of the Daily Digital Show

In case you would like to listen to Tavis Smiley live at 2:00 EST

KBLA | KBLA TALK 1580

A few months ago, I gave a talk on Improving Healthcare Outcomes in the Black Community. Today, I was reminded of this one slide that I included on some important components to ADD to your Home Health Kit. Because I was at a church when this reminder occurred, I also STRONGLY suggest that you heed this advice for your medical ministries.

1.) Automatic Home Blood Pressure Cuff- https://tinyurl.com/y9wsxh3j

2.) Pulse Oximeter- https://tinyurl.com/46tusb3z

3.) Blood Glucose Meter- **typically someone in the family or congregation is diabetic and can provide guidance on how to use it

4.) Ammonia/Smelling Salts or alcohol pads

When you call 911, EMS will GREATLY appreciate your ability to provide concrete numbers and a birds-eye assessment of what is happening with the patient. It will often impact how quickly they will arrive.

**Bonus Points if you are a physician or a nurse and create a little kit with these things to keep in your car

Set your DVRs ! ☺️ This Wednesday, May 22. Check your local listings. It’s going to be a blast !

Check out today's chat on NPR on Black Maternal Health in our country and in Georgia. It was an enlightening discussion !

The progress, inequities and additional training models needed in maternal healthcare - WABE Today begins part one of a “Closer Look” series on maternal healthcare.  While maternal health concerns the health of women before and during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period, other […]

This week is Black Maternal Health Awareness Week. This year's theme is "“Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!”
It has been a busy week of Education and Advocacy in GA and SC.

Join me tomorrow morning 4/16/24 at 9 AM on The Morning Mix on WRDW TV. We will have an in-depth discussion on what WE can to create actionable solutions to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for the women in our communities.

Good. Morning everyone !! My segment on the Drew Barrymore show was moved to May 22🥰☺️

ETA: Oue segment has been moved to air on 5/22. Mark your calendars !

Do you want to learn more about prioritizing your sexual health ? Check out the Drew Barrymore show. Tomorrow March 28 on your local CBS affiliate. It was a great, candid and long overdue discussion.

If you or a love one is pregnant or recently delivered, this workshop is for you !

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/860090001347?aff=oddtdtcreator

What a fantastic way to kick off Women’s History Month !

If these young ladies at Augusta University are any indication, the future history makers truly walk among us. They came ready to be Energized, Galvanized and Motivated to improve Black Maternal Healthcare.

When they asked “What specifically can I do to make a change ?” That was when I knew “Oh these ladies are SERIOUS !”

I am actually beginning to feel hopeful that we can make a difference.

Well that was fast! The end of February is here already and, as is our tradition, we complete our Black History Month Celebration by introducing you to a group of women who make a mark on history as part of the mere 2% of physicians who are African-American females;

The MCSTUFFIN MOMMIES !

We are a collective of over 1400 physicians of color who proudly boast the title “Dr. Mommy”.

We are physician mothers that strongly believe in the adage “A rising tide lifts all boats”. As we lift each other, our children, and our communities we remain dedicated to leaving an imprint that reflects our appreciation for the sacrifices and efforts of those that paved the way for us.

This annual, month-long, celebration is especially important to us because increasingly, efforts to celebrate and include the diversity of our presence and our voices are being shuttered and silenced.

We recognize that it is not only important for OUR children to know the rich and triumphant history of those who look like us but for ALL children to know the same.

In the comments below the post here on my personal profile page, you will meet the members of the McStuffin Mommies. Contributors to this campaign will highlight the name of the Black History Notable they researched and presented.

I strongly encourage you to take the time to meet these women and share today’s post. Drop in the comments something you learned from us this year. Check out the collages and see if you can locate some of your favorite McStuffin Mommies

I am Donna Adams-Pickett, PhD, MD, FACOG, obstetrician/gynecologist, mother to Sydney and Seth, your daily editor, occasional contributor and founder/administrator of The McStuffin Mommies. As always, it has been a joy to celebrate our history with you!

See you next year !

The John Deere company can thank their success to today’s Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies.

Henry Blair- Inventor and the second African American inventor to receive a US patent.

Henry Blair was born in 1807, His first invention was the Seed-Planter, patented October 14, 1834, assigned 8447x, which allowed farmers to plant more corn using less labor and in a shorter time.

On August 31, 1836, he obtained a second patent for a cotton planter, assigned number 15. This invention worked by splitting the ground with two shovel-like blades which a horse pulled along. A wheel-driven cylinder followed, dropping the seed into the newly plowed ground.

Blair had been a successful farmer for years and developed the inventions to increase efficiency in farming. In the patent records,

Blair is listed as a "colored man," making this identification the only one of its kind in early patent records. Blair was illiterate; therefore he signed his patents with an "x".

Because Blair was a freedman when his patents were granted, United States patent law allowed freed and enslaved people to obtain patents.

In 1857, this law was challenged by an enslaver who claimed that he owned "all the fruits of the slave's labor," including their inventions.” This resulted in a change of the law in 1858, which stated that enslaved people were not citizens and could not hold patents.

In 1871, six years after the American Civil War ended, the law was changed to grant all men patent rights. This change did not include women.

Today’s contribution was from Mommy Dr. Jo Anna Fields-Gilmore of Texas

What a great way to end your day by learning about this Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies:

Dr. Charles F. Whitten - physician, medical pioneer and the founder and president emeritus of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc. (SCDAA).

Dr. Whitten was born on February 2, 1922 in Wilmington, Delaware. He then studied medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee and earned his M.D. degree in 1945 at age twenty-three.

Dr. Whitten worked as a general practitioner in Lackawanna, New York from 1946 to 1951, and then served two years as a captain in the US Medical Corps before returning to the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Medicine for a year of advanced study in pediatrics. In 1953, he began a two-year residency in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, NY. In 1955, he moved to Detroit, MI for a one-year fellowship to study pediatric hematology under Dr. Wolf Zeltzer.

In 1957, he joined the faculty of Wayne State University School of Medicine and was subsequently appointed chief of pediatrics at the Detroit Receiving Hospital, making him the first African American to head a hospital department in Michigan.

Dr. Whitten is widely regarded in the medical community as a trailblazer for his work in sickle cell disease screening. In 1971, he formed the Sickle Cell Detection and Information Center in Detroit, MI, a comprehensive community program which developed educational tools for teaching children and families about sickle cell disease.

Dr. Charles Whitten was instrumental in the creation of the National Association for Sickle Cell Disease, now known as the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc.

Dr. Whitten passed away in 2008 at the age of 86. His daughter, Dr. Wanda Whitten-Shurney continues his legacy as the CEO and medical director for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (Michigan chapter).

Today’s contributions was from Mommy Dr. Joi McGraw of Maryland

Today’s Black History Notable from the McStuffin Mommies came with the research assist of one of our McStuffin nieces:

Ketanji Brown Jackson- Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The first Black woman and first former federal public defender to serve on the Supreme Court.

Justice Jackson (born Ketanji Onyika Brown) was born on September 14, 1970 in Washington, DC, where both of her parents taught in public schools. The family then moved to Miami, where her father, Johnny Brown, attended the University of Miami School of Law and became the chief attorney for the Miami-Dade County School Board. Her mother, Ellery, was the principal at the New World School of the Arts in Miami. She credits her early interest in law to the study sessions at the family dining room table with her father while he was in law school and she was in preschool—her father with his law school books and Justice Jackson with her coloring books.

Justice Jackson attended public schools in Miami and excelled in speech and debate at Miami Palmetto Senior High School, where she won the national oratory title at the National Catholic Forensic League championships in New Orleans as a senior. The star debater and senior class president applied to Harvard University in spite of her high school guidance counselor’s advice to set her sights lower.

In 1988, she enrolled as a freshman at Harvard University, where she was a member of the Black Students Association and led protests against a student who hung a Confederate flag from a dormitory window. She graduated from Harvard magna cm laude in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Government. She worked as a reporter and researcher for Time magazine from 1992 – 1993, writing stories on economic policy and prescription drug prices. She then attended Harvard Law School, where she was the supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 1996 with a Juris Doctor, cm laude.

After law school, Justice Jackson’s career included private practice, three federal clerkships and public service. From 2003 – 2005, she was an assistant special counsel to the United States Sentencing Commission, a bipartisan agency of the judicial branch that develops federal sentencing policy. From 2005 – 2007, she served as a federal public defender in Washington, DC, where she represented indigent clients and detainees held by the US in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2010, she returned to the US Sentencing Commission as a commissioner, having been nominated by President Barack Obama. From 2013 – 2021, she served on the US District Court for the District of Columbia. Justice Jackson was appointed by President Joe Biden to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 2021. She was then nominated by President Biden as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court in 2022 to replace retiring Justice Breyer.

Justice Jackson took the oaths of office on June 30, 2022 to become the 104th Associate Justice and the first Black woman to serve on the US supreme court, coming full circle to replace Justice Breyer, for whom she served as a clerk over two decades prior.

She is married Dr. Patrick Graves Jackson, whom she met at Harvard College. They have two daughters, Talia (born in 2000) and Leila (born in 2004). Interestingly, when she was 11 years old, Leila wrote a letter to then President Obama about nominating her mom to the Supreme Court.

Today’s contribution is from Mommy Dr. Gjanje Smith-Mathus of Durham, NC, and her 12 year old daughter, our McStuffin niece Julia.

If you feel safe at home today because of your security system, you can thank today's Black History Month notable from the McStuffin Mommies.

Marie Van Brittan Brown- Inventor and creator of the first CCTV (closed circuit television) home security system.

Marie Van Brittan Brown was born on October 22, 1922, in Jamaica, Queens, New York. She graduated from the University of Phoenix and Harrison College and became a nurse. She married her husband, Albert Brown - an electrician- and they had two children.

It is said that Van Brittan Brown's idea for a home security system arose from desiring to protect her family as the crime rates were rising in her city. She often worked odd hours as a nurse and was concerned for her safety to and from home.

In 1966, she and her husband patented the first closed-circuit television (CCTV) security system for home use. Marie was listed as the lead inventor. Their invention laid the groundwork for modern-day home security systems and paved the way for advancements in surveillance technology.

Many historians say the invention was ahead of its time. A photo of the patent application is shared today. In brief, the security system included:
• An adjustable peephole camera.
• Video receiver.
• Microphone.
• Radio-controlled lock.
• An alarm (accessed by a red button) to alert the local police station.

This invention was novel in the 1960s as it allowed two-way communication from inside and outside the home, and the lock could be bolted or unbolted based on radio commands. This closed-circuit television (CCTV) was the first of its kind. Marie received recognition from the National Science Committee, and the couple was recognized in the New York Times for their genius invention in the December 6, 1969 issue.

Unfortunately, the couple had difficulty finding buyers at the time of its development. Many initial purchasers cited cost as a limitation, but a combination of factors - including racial and gender stereotypes, also thwarted their growth on the market. Marie passed away in 1999 in Queens.

To this day, the technology patented by this Black couple's technology is currently in use and is cited in over 30 U.S. patents. Following her footsteps, her daughter Norma Brown became a nurse and had several inventions of her own.

Try this STEM activity on "How to Make An Alarm" with your kiddos in honor of Marie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXWUyk1XZeg

Today’s contribution is from Mommy Dr. Irogue Igbinosa, of Texas.

Today’s Black History Notable is the Great Grandfather of one of our McStuffin Mommies. He is:

Herman Dreer, PhD- teacher, minister, scholar, theologian, author, activist, humanitarian

Dr. Herman Samuel Dreer was born in Washington DC on September 12, 1889 to free parents.

He was the second African-American graduate from Bowdoin College in 1910. He graduated as salutatorian and magna cm laude in only 3 years, earning the renowned Phi Beta Kappa honor. He went on to complete studies at Virginia Theological Seminary and College, where he also taught Latin, Physics and Chemistry, and earned his Master of Arts in Latin. He studied Scientific Agriculture at the University of Illinois and obtained a Master of Arts in English and Doctorate of Philosophy in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 1955, in his 60s.

Dr. Dreer single handedly changed the educational landscape for Black people in St. Louis, MO.

In 1914, he moved there to teach at Sumner High School, one of the few that Black students could attend. He was saddened to find that his students did not know much about their ancestors’ history. He organized St.Louis educators to charter the area’s first Negro History week in 1927. Its success led to the Saturday School of Negro Education, a program dedicated to helping teachers integrate African-American history into their curriculum.

Dreer’s efforts later evolved into more organized Black History Month programming in St. Louis that continues to this day. For many, his curriculum, which he centered on the achievements of ancient and developing African societies, was the first time most of the students learned about African history beyond being black and enslaved in the U.S..

Due to Jim Crow era laws restricting access to higher education, Dr. Dreer recognized that Black youth had to leave the area in order to attend accredited colleges beyond high school. He himself had been denied admissions to Missouri State schools due to being Black. To that end, he founded Douglass College in 1935, a four-year university and for years, taught the bulk of its coursework himself. He trained hundreds of the first generation of college educated Negro professionals in St. Louis, who went on to majorly impact the Black community during the Civil Rights era. Douglass College was later absorbed into Harris Teacher College, which today is known as Harris-Stowe State University.

Dreer was also a passionate social justice advocate, playing a key role in supporting the Shelley family during the Shelley vs. Kraemer case in 1947-1948. In this particular case, jointly argued by Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court declared restrictive residential covenants that excluded people by race were unenforceable. The Shelly vs. Farmer case led to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which declared discriminatory housing policies against Black Americans to be illegal.

Herman Dreer promoted the integration of African Americans at Washington University St. Louis in 1948. He was instrumental in organizing multiple Civil Rights marches and events in the St. Louis area.

Dr. Dreer wrote several plays and books, with his most renowned project being his chronicling of the founding of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, 1911 through 1939. In 2009, his home on Cote Brilliante St., located in the former hub of the St. Louis Black community was designated a Registered Historical Landmark.

Dr. Herman Dreer’s great-granddaughter, Dr. Alauna Curry, is member of McStuffin Mommies and the contributor of today’s piece.

Today's Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies is:

Louis L. Redding – Pioneering Attorney and Civil Rights champion.

Louis L. Redding was born in 1901. He spent his formative years in Wilmington Delaware attending segregated public schools and graduated from Howard High School, the only high school for African Americans in Delaware. He subsequently attended Brown University graduating with honors in 1923 and went on to study law at Harvard University becoming the only African American in the 1928 graduating class.

At age 28 Redding became the first African American to practice law in Delaware. He remained the only non-white lawyer in the state for over 25 years and overcame significant racial barriers to finally become the first African American attorney to be admitted to the Delaware bar in 1949.

Throughout his career, Redding fought tirelessly for civil rights and racial equality. One of Redding's most notable contributions was his involvement in the legal battles against segregation in education. His legal victory in 1950 Parker v. University of Delaware was the first case in the country in which a court ordered an institution of higher education to desegregate and enroll black students.

Attorney Redding won 2 additional cases in Delaware to desegregate public schools in New Castle county. One of which, Gebhart v. Belton, was later combined with other cases to form the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education landing Redding on the winning legal team alongside Thurgood Marshall.

The Brown decision in 1954 declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional, effectively ending legal segregation in public schools nationwide.

Redding's work extended beyond education. He also fought against segregation in other areas, including housing and public accommodations.

He later returned to the Supreme Court in 1961 to successfully argue against segregation in public accommodations in Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority.

Throughout his life, Louis L. Redding remained committed to the cause of civil rights, using the law as a powerful tool to challenge discrimination and promote justice. His legacy continues to inspire generations of activists and attorneys in the ongoing struggle for equality and social justice.

Today’s contribution is from Mommy Dr. Reiesha Graham of Delaware.

Today's Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies is:

Dr. Marilyn Hughes Gaston - physician, researcher, public health leader

Marilyn Hughes Gaston, M.D. was born January 31, 1939 in Cincinnati, OH where she witnessed her mother suffer with cervical cancer due to lack of health insurance. This tragic event inspired her to pursue a career in the medical field despite discouragement from teachers.

The only African-American in her medical school graduating class at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, she went on to complete a pediatric residency and become a practicing pediatrician and sickle cell expert.

In 1986, Dr. Gaston published the results of a groundbreaking NIH study that proved that screening for sickle cell anemia at birth and giving babies with sickle cell disease (SCD) long-term penicillin treatment could prevent septic infections and death. The study resulted in Congressional legislation to encourage and fund SCD screening programs nationwide.

Dr. Gaston was promoted to Assistant Surgeon General and Rear Admiral in the US Public Health Service and went on to become the first African American woman to direct a public health service bureau (the Bureau of Primary Health Care in the United States Department of Health and Human Services) in 1990.

Under Dr. Gaston’s leadership, the Bureau created programs that impacted the health outcomes of over 12 million people, providing care and resources to community centers, schools, public housing, and shelters along with programs targeting elders, new immigrants, and pregnant women.

Her illustrious career has been dedicated to improving health care quality for all Americans and increasing access to medical care and resources for persons from historically disenfranchised and under resourced groups.

Dr. Gaston has been the recipient of many well-deserved national awards and recognitions for her incredible contributions in altering the lives of babies born with sickle cell disease, shaping the US health care system, and improving health for all.

Today’s contribution was submitted by Mommy Dr. Chavon Onumah of Washington D.C.

Today's Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies is:

Zena Howard- world renowned citizen architect and architect for the Smithsonian Museum of African-American History.

You may not be aware of her name but you know her work. Most notably she served as Senior Project Manager of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Zena Howard is one of 400+ African American female architects in a profession of over 110,000 architects.

She has over 25 years of experience with a focus on culture and sustainability. She is a founding member and Principal and Managing Director of Perkins+Will’s North Carolina practice.

Zena decided on architecture at the age of 9 after discovering a love for drawing, space and placement. While her pursuits leaned toward engineering she was less interested in the systems, plumbing an lighting. She found herself wanting to understand the light and the effect and the feeling of the space.

Ms. Howard was born in Texas and went on to live in Baltimore, Syracuse and then Rocky Mount, North Carolina which gave her an awareness of how buildings can impact well being. Being an African American family in the 1960’s and 1970’s put limits on the what kind of housing was available and this further drew her into the field of architecture.

She graduated from Rocky Mount High School and went on to receive a bachelors of science degree in architecture from the University of Virginia. She is a LEED-Accredited Professional, a member of the American Institute of Architects, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. She also serves on the North Carolina State University School of Architecture Advisory Board and the University of Virginia Alumni Association Board of Managers.

Zena’s career has been defined by visionary, complex, and culturally significant projects – like Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and The Durham County Human Services Complex in Durham, North Carolina – that navigate social issues of dignity, equity, and justice in cultural and civic places. She has been recognized as a citizen architect for shaping architecture through Remembrance Design, a design process that responds to inequity and injustice by restoring lost cultural connections and honoring collective memory and history.

She has lectured at multiple institutions, served on the North Carolina State Capitol Foundation Board and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. public service sorority.

Zena’s team is working to establish a model for cities across North America to reconcile the results of poorly-conceived urban renewal and development policies which often decimated established African American communities. This “remembrance” work brings historical and cultural relevance to struggling downtowns, reignites connections between people, and resolves decades-old divides within communities

Today's contribution was from Mommy Dr. Demequa LeGail DeRouselle Moore

Today's Black History Notable from The McStuffin Mommies is :

Dr. Otis Smith- First Black Board Certified Pediatrician in the State of Georgia and principle activist in the desegregation of hospitals in the State of Georgia.

Dr. Otis Smith was born in 1925 in Georgia and educated in the Atlanta school systems from early childhood through college. He attended Ashby Street Elementary and Booker T. Washington High School. He went on to graduate from Morehouse College. He then went to Meharry Medical College in TN funded by a donation from Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. Mitchell also supported the establishment of Hughes Spaulding, the first hospital to care for African Americans children and adults in the Atlanta area.

In 1967, Dr. Otis Smith went on to chair a committee of the Atlanta Medical Association focused on advocating for the desegregation of Georgia hospitals, like Grady Hospital and Hughes Spaulding.
Later that year President Lyndon Johnson went on to sign an executive order to desegregate all hospitals in the United States.

As president of the Atlanta NAACP, his activism stretched his contributions beyond just his own accolades as a pediatrician, but to impact social change on a larger scale.

Among other accolades, Grady Hospital System named one of their southwest Atlanta pediatric clinics in Dr. Otis Smiths honor. He died in 2007.

Dr. Otis Smith served his community in Atlanta with great dedication and elevated the quality of care for African American children who were overlooked by the healthcare system at that time. He was pivotal in ensuring equity of care to all children.

Today's Black History Moment from The McStuffin Mommies features:

The Fultz Quads- the first set of identical African American quadruplets of record in America

The Fultz Sisters were born on May 23rd, 1946, at Cone Health Annie Penn Hospital in Reidsville, North Carolina. The girls were born to Annie Mae Fultz who was half African American and Half Cherokee and James Fultz who was African American and went by the name Pete. Pete was a sharecropper on a to***co farm while Annie was a stay-at-home Mom to their six children.

Their family managed many hardships related to poverty, including no running water, no electricity, no car, and racism as they worked to make a living. Neither Annie nor Pete could read or write. This placed them at a unique disadvantage when Annie became pregnant with the girls and received care from Dr. Fred Klenner.

Dr. Fred Klenner was an Obstetrician from North Carolina, now practicing in Tennessee who provided prenatal care to Annie. His prenatal testing had detected three heart beats and he convinced Annie to move into the basement of their segregated hospital to await the delivery of her high-risk infants. During that time her other 6 children were cared for by her father while Pete continued to work.

During their prenatal period Dr. Klenner experimented with the use of high dose vitamin C injections on Annie which may have led to some of the chronic medical problems the girls experienced later in life. When Annie went into labor, her delivery was attended to by Dr. Fred Kenner and a Black nurse named Margaret Ware. Margaret had spent many hours taking care of Annie in the basement of the segregated hospital while she awaited the delivery of her babies with very meager surroundings, outdated instruments, and minimal resources.

The girls were delivered prematurely weighing three pounds each. They were born at a time before incubators or neonatal intensive care units, and it is a miracle that they all survived. They were kept together in a crib wrapped in blankets to keep them warm and fed with eye droppers.

Since Annie and Pete were unable to read or write, Dr. Klenner used the opportunity to name all the children himself. He gave each baby the first name Mary and gave each of them middle names after his own family members: Mary Ann, after Dr. Klenner's wife, Mary Louise after Dr. Klenner’s daughter, Mary Alice after Dr. Klenner’s aunt, and Mary Catherine after Dr. Klenner’s great-aunt.

Dr. Klenner went on to capitalize on his relationship with Annie and Pete Fultz by negotiating a deal with PET milk to use the Fultz Quads for advertising and advertise PET milk to the Black community. At this time most Black families were breastfeeding as formula was too expensive. This relationship with the Fultz Sisters, Dr. Klenner and PET Milk has been shown to have a long-lasting impact on rates of Breastfeeding in the Black community.

In exchange for this agreement, the PET milk company was to provide basic housing, food, and necessities for the family, including a stipend of $350 a month. Unfortunately despite this stated commitment the family remained in poverty during this period and by some accounts the PET Milk company ultimately rescinded this agreement.

Dr. Klenner kept the girls in a glass enclosed nursery in the home and allowed visitation and viewing to the public from 2pm-4pm. The majority of the financial gains from this relationship went to Dr. Klenner and the PET Company who posted record profits during this period by promoting PET milk as superior to breast milk in Black communities.

The girl’s childhood was followed very closely from infancy well into adulthood and autographed pictures proved to be a good source of supplemental income for Dr. Klenner. Some highlights included being featured in Ebony and meeting President Kennedy, Althea Gibson, and President Harry S. Truman.

All four of the Fultz sisters. received a full scholarship to the Bethune Cookman school of music but were forced to end their education early due to chronic medical problems. They went on to form an amateur band and played several instruments including piano, guitar, viola, drums, cello, violin, and organ.

They remained very close with the family of their long-time caregiver, a nurse’s aide named Elma Saylor and eventually also pursued careers as nursing aides. None of the Fultz Sisters are living today. All four died from breast cancer with the last sister, Mary Catherine dying in 2018.

To learn more about the Fultz Sisters and this important chapter in Black History check out the book Skimmed by Andera Freeman.

Today's contribution was from Mommy .Dr. Terri MD Kincaid of Texas.