Josephine English | Brooklyn Legends

Dear Readers,

We are pleased to join the world in celebrating Women’s History Month. Sharing the important contributions of Brooklyn women from the African diaspora, and the accomplishments of women throughout the world, has motivated me to look for ways to make an impact on young ladies in my community. What will be my legacy for the future? How can I engage others?

Dr. Josephine English – NY Dailynews.com

Today I am pleased to tell you about the historical achievements of Dr. Josephine English – one of the first African-American women to have an OB/GYN practice in New York and one of Brooklyn’s earliest medical pioneers.

Dr. English was a tireless community leader, patron of the arts and philanthropist. Most important of all, she was a wonderful mother to her children, and earned a reputation as a highly coveted OB/GYN to Brooklyn residents and notables, including Dr. Betty Shabazz, wife of Malcolm X.

Dr.English’s home – via http://www.ohny.org

Dr. English was born on December 17, 1920, in Virginia, and she died on December 18, 2011 in Brooklyn, NY, one day after her 91st birthday. Although she lived in Bedford Stuyvesant for many years, she would spend her last days at the Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, where she was recovering after undergoing a surgical procedure.

Dr. Susan McKinney via Blackpast.org

As I was preparing this post, I wondered wouldn’t it be great if Dr. English had an opportunity to meet Dr. McKinney? Picture a room where Dr. English, a recent graduate from Meharry Medical College who was now living in Brooklyn, could sit and talk with Dr. McKinney, the esteemed Brooklyn native who was the first African-American woman to earn an MD degree in New York State and the third woman to earn an MD degree in the United States. Can you just imagine the stories they would share? As medical pioneers with their own series of “firsts,” in addition to their personal and professional triumphs and challenges, I envision a conversation filled with many “aha” moments.

Dr. English spent her childhood years in New Jersey. Her parents were among the first African-American families to settle in Englewood. She received a B.A. from Hunter College in 1939 and continued her education at New York University where she received a M.A. in Psychology. After NYU, she attended Meharry Medical College and received her M.D. in 1949. Dr. English was ready to make her mark on the world. Her first stop was Harlem Hospital, where she worked for many years until she moved to Brooklyn in 1956.

Dr. English was a trailblazer who reached back to help others who were in need. She was among our borough’s earliest women philanthropists who championed the importance of health care for women, men and children. Shortly after moving to Brooklyn, she founded a Women’s Community Health Clinic in Bushwick. In 1979, she founded the Adelphi Medical Center which provided services for women and men.

On stage at the Paul Robeson Theater via - www.northjersey.com

On stage at the Paul Robeson Theater via – http://www.northjersey.com

Dr. English loved the theater and she was determined to share her passion for the arts with the community. In 1980, decades after opening many medical clinics, she purchased an abandoned church and converted it to the Paul Robeson Theater for the Performing Arts.

One year later, in 1981, Dr. English turned her sights to services for children and opened Up The Ladder Day Care and After-School Program which included a summer day camp. In 1986, she became the first minority, and the first woman, to be awarded a license from the New York State Department of Health to develop a free-standing ambulatory surgical center in Brooklyn.

Dr. English worked well beyond what was considered to be retirement age. She focused intently on her goals and did not let anything stand in her way. She changed the health-care landscape for women, men and families, in Brooklyn by providing access to health education and empowering her patients to make healthy life-style choices. She was a guiding force in Brooklyn and one of our brightest stars. Her achievements are legendary and it is an honor to salute her.

Dr. English will be truly missed.

Fondly,
Monique

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Credits:
Josephine English, one of the first back, female OB/GYNs not stopping at 89 – nydailynews.com
Dr. Josephine English, 91 via Northjersey.com
Dr. Josephine English, Medical Trailblazer dies at 91 – via www1.cuny.edu
Dr. Josephine English, The HistoryMakers via http://www.thehistorymakers.com

Bethann Hardison via The HistoryMakers

Dr. Josephine English – NY Dailynews.com

Women’s History Month theme via NWHP.org

Rev. Julie Johnson Staples via Panys.org

Ernesta Procope via Black Enterprise

Lynn Nottage via The HistoryMakers

International Women’s Day Theme

Rosalyn Terborg-Penn via The HistoryMakers

Dear Readers,

Welcome to Women’s History Month! The past few weeks have been filled with appointments and deadlines that would not let up. Please know that I truly miss connecting with you, and I am glad to be back on track. During recent conversations with some of my sister-friends, we each shared a common feeling — time is speeding by and we are racing to catch up. We have so much to do. Yet, as hard as we work, we continue to feel as if very little is getting done. Of course these feelings are simply an illusion.

The important contributions that we make — as wife, mother, nurturer or caretaker; entrepreneur, trusted colleague, advisor or volunteer; community leader, change agent or visionary — underscore the value we have added to contemporary society and throughout history. While our contributions may not always receive public fanfare or recognition, the appreciation we receive, from those we have helped along this journey, is priceless.

At Brooklyn Legends we celebrate the achievements of amazing women from the African diaspora everyday. We are thrilled to join the world in celebrating International Women’s Day, which is today, Sunday, March 8th, and Women’s History Month, which lasts throughout March.

Julieanna Richardson – via Chicagomag.com

Recently, I read an interesting article, The Insider: Julieanna Richardson, Founder of The HistoryMakers, on the #Blackgivesback blog. This article provided the perfect segue for our Women’s History Month salute.

Founded in 1999, “The HistoryMakers is a leader in helping to educate and enlighten millions worldwide through refashioning a more inclusive record of American history.” Ms. Richardson has changed the conversation with the impressive video interviews she has conducted to document the lives of African-Americans, their triumphs and challenges. To read the entire article from the #Blackgivesback blog please click here. To experience the priceless treasures on The HistoryMakers site, please follow this link.

Ms. Richardson and her team have also interviewed some phenomenal women from Brooklyn. The photo montage at the start of today’s post, provides a glimpse of some of these trailblazers. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it will be my privilege to share more information with you about each of these Legends. We invite you to join us as we recognize:

Dr. Josephine English, a medical pioneer and the first African-American woman to have an OB/GYN practice in the state of New York. Dr. English died in 2012 at the age of 91 years old.
Ernesta Procope, an entrepreneur who used her business savvy to grow her insurance and real estate business from a small storefront in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn to the first minority-owned company on Wall Street.
Rev. Julie Johnson Staples, who prior to her career as an ordained minister worked as: a journalist, a Wall Street finance executive and a correspondent for the Justice Department and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lynn Nottage, a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, Associate Professor of Theater at Columbia University and lecturer at Yale University.
Bethann Hardison, a trailblazing model and businesswoman, an outspoken advocate for greater representation of people of color in the modeling industry and creator of The Black Girls Collective.
Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, Ph.D., an American historian and author, who focuses on early African-American history and African-American women’s history, who is also a Professor Emerita at Morgan State University.

As you can see, we have a great deal in store for March. We invite you to continue this journey with us.

Enjoy your day!
Monique

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Credits:

Information about Ms. Richardson and The HistoryMakers comes from the Black Gives Back Blog – http://www.Blackgivesback.com
The HistoryMakers – http://www.historymakers.com
Dr. Josephine English – The History Makers and City University of New York, www1.cuny.edu
Ernesta Procope – The History Makers and Black Enterprise Magazine, blackenterprise.com
Rev. Julie Johnson Staples – The History Makers and The Riverside Church, http://www.theriversidechurchny.org
Lynn Nottage – The History Makers and Lynn Nottage, http://www.lynnnottage.com
Bethann Hardison – The History Makers and Elle Magazine, http://www.elle.com
Rosalyn Terborg-Penn – The History Makers and BWHxG – Cross Generational Dialogues in Black Women’s History

Brooklyn Legends

Celebrating Brooklyn Women from the Africa diaspora and their communities, while proudly saluting women throughout the world.

Tag Archives: Josephine English

Saluting Women’s History Month & Dr. Josephine English

Celebrating International Women’s Day & Women’s History Month

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