Naturopath Jesse Mae Newsome picking medicinal plants in White Springs, Florida, Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project In her research, medical historian Susan E. Cayleff found that the Midwest served as one of the hotbeds of the naturopathy professionalization movement in the 1950s. The degree requirements when Dr. Alvenia Fulton (1893-1999) attended Lincoln College of Naturopathy is unknown. Today “naturopathic doctors are required to graduate from an accredited four-­ year naturopathic medical school and pass an extensive postdoctoral board examination administered by the Naturopathic Phy ..read more

Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project Zora Neale Hurston’s writings reveal a similar interest as Dr. Alvenia Fulton in natural prescriptions for illnesses. Hurston was born in Alabama in 1891; Fulton was born in Tennessee in 1893. After completing her high school degree, Hurston would go on to earn a BS in anthropology from Barnard College. While doing fieldwork in the US south and the Caribbean, Hurston found that in general rural people practiced plant-based medicine, what she called folk medicine. As in West Africa, rural black folk used herbs that they planted and or foraged in loca ..read more

Naturopath Jesse Mae Newsome holding sassafras roots in White Springs, Florida, Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project I have been researching and writing about Naturopath Dr. Alvenia Fulton (1893-1999) since I saw her speak at Howard University about 1990. Historically the American Medical Association (AMA) as actively opposed the US Naturopathy movement. AMA members experimented on African-American patients and did not have practitioners of color among its leaders for a long time. Black folks tended to use the folk traditions passed down through oral histories and those called within their ..read more

Early19th century herbalist, Courtesy of The New York Public Library Speaking of Haiti, Anthropologist Zora Neal Hurston (1891-1960) recorded that those with a working knowledge of natural remedies did not go to board certified medical doctors to cure their ailments. Instead, they safely used natural remedies including herbs. Tennessee born naturopath Dr. Alvenia Fulton like Hurston recorded food-based prescriptions for illnesses. Where they came from specifically is unclear. A look at the ingredients in the natural prescriptions in their writings provides interesting insights into the histor ..read more

Zora Neale Hurston did research in Haiti in the 1930s. She observed that since the Haitian people’s struggle for freedom started in 1804, too many presidents have been assassinated, revolutions launched, US military occupations endured, and Haiti left in a state of political instability. She believed that the future of Haiti depended upon the action of intelligent young Haitians “who have abandoned the traditional political tricks.” She went on to say, “In the past, as now, Haiti's curse has been politicians” dedicated to developing themselves instead of the people. “It is not that Haiti has h ..read more

Latin American elites leveraged the fear of a Haitian revolution spreading to undermine multiracial revolutionary movements throughout the circum-Caribbean, particularly in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Some progressives in the region championed the notion of a black or Afro diasporic Confederacy that would include Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. About Frederick Douglass Opie Books Youtube Facebook Instagram Podcast  For Speaking Tell others about this blog and share a link ..read more

Latin American revolutionaries like Simon Bolivar came to Haitian leaders for support of their revolutions against Spain and they gained that support so long as they pledged to abolish slavery once they gained their independence. Bolivar for one did not keep his promise. Leaders in Venezuela and Mexico did receive support from Haiti and kept their promise to abolish slavery. About Frederick Douglass Opie Books Youtube Facebook Instagram Podcast  For Speaking Tell others about this blog and share a link ..read more

In the 19th century Spanish elites vilified the Haitian revolution calling it violent and barbaric instead of a reasoned response to an exploitative slave society. The enslaved challenged the worldview that they did not have the intellect, military ability, and organizational skills to revolt and establish political independence from one of the most successful military minds in history in Napoleon Bonaparte. For enslaved peoples in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic Haiti symbolized freedom and equality and that message spread throughout the Americas including the US South. About Fre ..read more

Haiti has been in the news recently because of political instability. Today we start a series country’s history and culture. Historically Haiti has been symbolic with resisting oppression and because of that some scholars have called for placing Haiti at the center of circum-Caribbean history because the republic supported revolutionary movements throughout the region including Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Columbia. Haiti also inspired slave revolts throughout other parts of the Americas. About Frederick Douglass Opie Books Youtube Facebook Instagram Podcast  For Speakin ..read more

Langston Hughes, Courtesy of the New York Public Library I came across Langston Hughes’ poem "Dinner Guest: Me." Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin Missouri and grew up in Lawrence, Kansas and several other Midwestern communities at the turn of the century. He eventually settled in Harlem where he lived until his death in 1967. This poem is about race relations in one of New York’s black intellectual community their struggled with the promises of white liberal politicians. Dinner Guest: Me I know I am The Negro Problem Being wined and dined, Answering the usual questions That come to white min ..read more