Welcome to the Light A Candle in the Dark website. Light A Candle in the Dark is a poetry website created to share my poetry and the poetry of others who have a love for reading and writing poetry. It is a place where poetry is loosely defined. It's a simple joy of the written or spoken word. It is not a forum for discussing technique or the contents of the poetry posted herein.
Welcome and enjoy!
Pat (aka P. Newman-Harris)
I heard a message so clear
it was like God had placed his lips to my ear.
Why is it so hard for us to comprehend
the message that has burned the heart of men?
Diana said we could make the world a better place
if we reached out and touched somebody's hand.
Still, we did not understand.
Michael's message in ManintheMirror
could not have been any clearer.
You have to start with yourself
Before you can love someone else.
People all over the world sang, We can make the world a better place just you and me. Still, we did not see. We do not need an "a ha moment"
to understand why these messages were sent.
Man has tried to succeed in every arena.
He has tried to make the air cleaner.
He has delved the depths of the sea,
And made the seemingly impossible come to be.
He has soared into outer space,
but he cannot resolve the issue of race.
The lack of trust continues to separate us
What good is it to have intelligence of mind
and still remain blind?
How many more years will go by before we realize
what is right before our eyes?
As I pen these words,
I am only repeating what I heard.
These words are not mine.
God simply wanted me to let you know.
We are running out of time.
copyright 2010, Matters of the Heart, Patricia Newman-Harris
The struggle against segregation was long and hard. Most of you were too young to know about that struggle, but for those of us who were there, we have learned the importance of seizing the opportunities. Though life often deals a bad hand, you still must do all you can to move the pendulum in the right direction. It won't be easy. Someone said if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. We must work harder than others to achieve our goals, but it can be done. If no one else believes in you, always believe in you. Struggle has been a significant part of our history, and in spite of our progress, it is a significant part of our reality today. I believe it is that struggle that has made us as persistent and strong as we are. We can take a licking and keep on ticking. So, never stop pursuing your dreams. Pursue them with your whole heart and whatever you do, do it with all your might.
RONALD E. MCNAIR (PH.D.)
NASA ASTRONAUT (DECEASED)
PERSONAL DATA: Born October 21, 1950, in Lake City,
South Carolina. Died January 28, 1986. He is survived by his wife Cheryl, and
two children. He was a 5th degree black belt Karate instructor and a performing
jazz saxophonist. He also enjoyed running, boxing, football, playing cards, and cooking. EDUCATION: Graduated from Carver High School, Lake
City, South Carolina, in 1967; received a bachelor of science degree in Physics
from North Carolina A&T State University in 1971 and a doctor of philosophy
in Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976; presented an
honorary doctorate of Laws from North Carolina A&T State University in 1978,
an honorary doctorate of Science from Morris College in 1980, and an honorary
doctorate of science from the University of South Carolina in 1984. ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science, the American Optical Society, the American Physical
Society (APS), the APS Committee on Minorities in Physics, the North Carolina
School of Science and Mathematics Board of Trustees, the MIT Corporation Visiting
Committee, Omega Psi Phi, and a visiting lecturer in Physics at Texas Southern University. AWARDS: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. SPECIAL HONORS: Graduated magna cum laude from North
Carolina A&T (1971); named a Presidential Scholar (1967-1971), a Ford Foundation
Fellow (1971-1974), a National Fellowship Fund Fellow (1974-1975), a NATO Fellow
(1975); winner of Omega Psi Phi Scholar of the Year Award (1975), Los Angeles
Public School Systems Service Commendation (1979), Distinguished Alumni Award
(1979), National Society of Black Professional Engineers Distinguished National
Scientist Award (1979), Friend of Freedom Award (1981), Whos Who Among Black
Americans (1980), an AAU Karate Gold Medal (1976), five Regional Blackbelt Karate
Championships, and numerous proclamations and achievement awards. EXPERIENCE: While at Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Dr. McNair performed some of the earliest development of chemical HF/DF and
high-pressure CO lasers. His later experiments and theoretical analysis on the
interaction of intense CO2 laser radiation with molecular gases provided
new understandings and applications for highly excited polyatomic molecules.
In 1975, he studied laser physics with many authorities in
the field at Ecole Dete Theorique de Physique, Les Houches, France. He published
several papers in the areas of lasers and molecular spectroscopy and gave many
presentations in the United States and abroad.
Following graduation from MIT in 1976, he became a staff physicist
with Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California. His assignments included
the development of lasers for isotope separation and photochemistry utilizing
non-linear interactions in low-temperature liquids and optical pumping techniques.
He also conducted research on electro-optic laser modulation for satellite-to-satellite
space communications, the construction of ultra-fast infrared detectors, ultraviolet
atmospheric remote sensing, and the scientific foundations of the martial arts. NASA EXPERIENCE: Selected as an astronaut candidate
by NASA in January 1978, he completed a 1-year training and evaluation period
in August 1979, qualifying him for assignment as a mission specialist astronaut
on Space Shuttle flight crews.
He first flew as a mission specialist on STS 41-B which launched
from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 3, 1984. The crew included spacecraft
commander, Mr. Vance Brand, the pilot, Commander Robert L. Gibson, and fellow
mission specialists, Captain Bruce McCandless II, and Lt. Col. Robert L. Stewart.
The flight accomplished the proper shuttle deployment of two Hughes 376 communications
satellites, as well as the flight testing of rendezvous sensors and computer
programs. This mission marked the first flight of the Manned Maneuvering Unit
and the first use of the Canadian arm (operated by McNair) to position EVA crewman
around Challengers payload bay. Included were the German SPAS-01 Satellite,
acoustic levitation and chemical separation experiments, the Cinema 360 motion
picture filming, five Getaway Specials, and numerous mid-deck experiments --
all of which Dr. McNair assumed primary responsibility. Challenger culminated
in the first landing on the runway at Kennedy Space Center on February 11, 1984.
With the completion of this flight, he logged a total of 191 hours in space.
Dr. McNair was assigned as a mission specialist on STS 51-L.
Dr. McNair died on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger
exploded after launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, also taking the
lives of the spacecraft commander, Mr. F.R. Scobee, the pilot, Commander M.J.
Smith (USN), mission specialists, Lieutenant Colonel E.S. Onizuka (USAF), and
Dr. J.A. Resnik, and two civilian payload specialists, Mr. G.B. Jarvis and Mrs.
S. C. McAuliffe.
DECEMBER 2003
Taken from nasa.gov
Thank you Mr. McNair for taking our dreams to the sky and beyond.
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler: First African American woman to obtain a medical degree.
Overview
Rebecca
Davis Lee Crumpler is the first African-American woman to earn a medical
degree. She was also the first African-American to publish a text concerning
medical discourse. The text, A Book of Medical Discourses was published in 1883.
Achievements
First African-American woman to earn a medical degree.
First African-American woman to earn a Doctor of
Medicine degree from the New England Female Medical College.
Published A Book of Medical Discourses in
1883. The text was one of the first written by an
African-American concerning medicine.
Early
Life and Education
Rebecca
Davis Lee was born in 1831 in Delaware. Crumpler was raised in
Pennsylvania by an aunt who provided care for sick people. In 1852, Crumpler
moved to Charlestown, Ma. and was hired as a nurse. Crumpler desired to do more
than nursing. In her book, A Book of Medical Discourses, she wrote, “I really
conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the suffering
of others.”
In
1860, she was accepted into the New England Female Medical College.
Following
her graduation in medicine, Crumpler became the first African-American woman to
earn a Doctor of Medicine degree at for the New England Female Medical College.
Dr.
Crumpler
After
graduating in 1864, Crumpler established a medical practice in Boston for poor
women and children. Crumpler also received training in the “British Dominion.”
When
the Civil War ended in 1865, Crumpler relocated to
Richmond, Va.
She
argued that it was “a proper field for real missionary work, and one that would
present ample opportunities to become acquainted with the diseases of women and
children. During my stay there nearly every hour was improved in that sphere of
labor. The last quarter of the year 1866, I was enabled . . . to have access
each day to a very large number of the indigent, and others of different
classes, in a population of over 30,000 colored."
Soon
after her arrival in Richmond, Crumpler began working for the-the Freedmen’s Bureau as well as other missionary and
community groups. Working alongside other African-American physicians, Crumpler
was able to provide healthcare to recently freed slaves.
Crumpler
experienced racism and sexism. She describes the ordeal she endured by
saying, "men doctors snubbed her, druggist balked at filling her
prescriptions, and some people wisecracked that the M.D. behind her name stood
for nothing more than 'Mule Driver.'"
By
1869, Crumpler had returned to her practice on Beacon Hill where she provided
medical care to women and children.
In
1880, Crumpler and her husband relocated to Hyde Park, Ma. In 1883, Crumpler
wrote A Book of Medical Discourses. The text was a compilation of the
notes
she had taken during her medical field.
Personal
Life and Death
She
married Dr. Arthur Crumpler shortly after completing her medical degree. The
couple had no children.
I chose Dr. Crumpler as an example for all the young men and women who have been told they can't because of their race or gender, or whatever reason. She experienced both racism and sexism, but she endured. The song I chose is by Earth, Wind, and Fire, Shining Star. We all are Shining Stars, and no matter who we are or where we are from, we can shine. In tribute to Maurice White
