Commentary
COMMENTARY: Women’s History Month Shouldn’t Go Unrecognized
JACKSONVILLE FREE PRESS — With so much to write about, like local elections, crime, etc. it is important to take a pause from time to time to recognize worthy causes.
By Reggie Fullwood
With so much to write about, like local elections, crime, etc. it is important to take a pause from time to time to recognize worthy causes.

Reggie Fullwood
Mary McLeod Bethune said it best, “The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.”
This month is a time for us to reflect back on the vast contributions that women have made in this country, and particularly black women who have been the strength and backbone of the African American community.
As I just mentioned, I believe that women are the strongest beings on this earth. And let me quantify that by saying I am not merely speaking of physical strength or the fortitude it must take to bare a child, but a woman’s ability to be a leader, provider and nurturer makes her very unique.
What is so amazing about women are the remarkable strides that they have made over the years. Much like African Americans, women in general were not allowed to vote and even once those rights were granted often faced discriminatory challenges when attempting to vote.
Because of the struggles faced by American females, black women were essentially double minorities. They couldn’t vote because they were black and because they were women. But that never stopped women like Mary McLeod Bethune, Shirley Chisholm and Fannie Lou Hamer.
One of the most prophetic statements I heard regarding the strength of black women was from W.E.B. Dubois who said, “I most sincerely doubt if any other race of women could have brought its fineness up through so devilish a fire.”
Entertainer Lena Horne, said, “Black women have the habit of survival.” And there are so many examples of strong women. We have all heard of the strength, fortitude and drive of Harriet Tubman, who lead hundreds of slaves through the Underground Railroad, but there are everyday people who we should acknowledge as well.
In most black families the grandmother is the stabilizing force in the family. She provides wisdom, helps us raise our children, teaches us how to cook, teaches responsibility and often instills in us the importance of education and religion.
My grandmother and many other grandmothers or “Big Mamas” have always been the backbone of our families. They are the wise ladies that not only cook a mean sweet potato pie, but also can give you advice on every topic from home health remedies to relationships.
A woman’s worth is invaluable. Jacksonville has had a tradition of trailblazing black women. From Mary Singleton becoming the first black woman elected to the City Council and first woman from North Florida to be elected to the House of Representatives to Rita Perry founding and publishing the Jacksonville Free Press, women have made a significant mark on local and state history.
Today women play prevalent roles in politics, business, social movements and entertainment in this country, and many of them do this while being great mothers and wives. Once sanctioned primarily to being nurses, teachers and secretaries, women are now dominating corporate boardrooms, law offices and the political scene.
My heart goes out to “The ladies having babies on your own, I know it gets rough and you are feelin’ all alone,” said deceased rapper, Tupac Shakur. He understood the value of woman growing up in a single parent household. That’s what is so phenomenal about women – they are natural leaders, providers, caregivers, and lovers.
And as I mentioned before, black women are certainly unique because of all of the challenges they have faced since the days of slavery. Working as field laborers, nannies to the plantation owner’s children and even mandatory mistresses to slave owners certainly tested the will of black women and proved that sisters have had to go up the rough side of the mountain.
I can’t imagine the pain and anguish felt from having a child and that child being taken away and sold as one would sale a puppy. Or what about being a designated “bed wench” against your will or being raped at anytime or even dying because of the lack of basic healthcare – these are all the conditions black women lived in during slavery.
The legacy of slavery is vast and much more far-reaching than many will admit to, but it basically destroyed the black family structure. It made black women stronger and took away the black male’s responsibility of raising their children. That is a fact that African American families deal with today in America.
From Sojourner Truth to Barbara Jordan and my grandma, black woman have led when men were not able to lead or were too afraid. And as a great man once said, “There was never a great man who had not a great woman behind him.”
Perhaps President Obama said it best during a speech about equal rights for women. “We must carry forward the work of the women who came before us and ensure our daughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacle to their achievements and no remaining ceilings to shatter,” he said.
Signing off from the League of Women Voters Office,
Reggie Fullwood
This article originally appeared in the Jacksonville Free Press.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

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Activism
OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post
Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.
Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.
The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.
As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.
Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.
It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.
Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.
Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.
Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.
Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.
We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.
Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.
Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.
California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.
Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.
Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.
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