Continuing our celebration of Black History Month, today I wish to lift up the name and story of Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler. At a  time when very few women worked outside of the home, Dr. Crumpler was saving lives. Earning her M.D. degree from New England Female Medical College in 1864, she was the only African-American person to earn a degree from the institution and the first African-American female physician in the United States.

So, this week during worship we heard about Jeremiah’s calling to be a prophet. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” (Jer. 1:5). Jeremiah lived in difficult times, politically speaking. He ministered from around 627 BCE, during the reign of King Josiah over Judah (considered one of Judah’s last good kings), until after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian Empire and the exile of so many Judeans in 587-86 BCE (This was the same Babylonian exile I wrote about last week.) Jeremiah’s prophetic career would involve crying out against Judah’s infidelity to its covenant with God and warn of God’s judgment. (Long story short, the people wouldn’t listen very well, and the exile would happen anyway.)
 

Friends, we lifted up a few names of people who risked their lives while speaking up against the injustices they witnessed or experienced themselves. During this month I will share with you stories of persons whose stories are less known but their contributions were equally meaningful. One such name is Claudette Colvin -- a civil rights activist in Alabama during the 1950's.