God Spare Life

Kente Cloth Ceremony at Vassar College Commencement 2008

I had the honor of being invited to speak at this year's Kente Cloth Ceremony at Vassar and afterward talked with my publisher, Yvonne DiVita, about the event (including ... groan! ... the airline delays that made me late):

You can find more information on the origins, meaning, and adoption of Kente stoles as a graduation symbol at site like the Association of Black Professionals at Radford University or the Black Law Students Alliance at the University of Michigan.\

Later that day, I attended another part of the Commencement 2008 events, the Baccalaureate ceremony hosted by the Vassar Council of Black Seniors. I enjoyed it even more because my host for the weekend, Professor Joyce Bickerstaff, was honored for her years of service to Vassar.

She's been on the faculty since the year I graduated (1971), played an important role in building the Africana Studies program, and is currently Associate Professor of Education and Africana Studies.

According to information on the program,

"the Baccalaureate service originated in a statute of 1432 at Oxford University, requiring each graduate to deliver a sermon in Latin. Over the years, the Baccalaureate has come to signify a sermon of farewell to a graduating class. Historically, Vassar participated in this practice, however during the 1960s the tradition was lost. In 1991 the Council of Black Seniors rejuvenated the service as a Commencement weekend event."

This year's Vassar Baccalaureate was entitled "By Any Means Necessary" (Wikipedia entry on the origin of the phrase) and Reverend Dr. Michael Eric Dyson gave the address.

Afterward, I had the opportunity to meet him, give him a copy of my book, and get my picture taken.

All in all, a wonderful day.

Barack Obama - Another Magical Moment in History

I'm feeling a bit psychic, given the news today. Listen to my interview with my editor/publisher, Yvonne DiVita, from a few days ago about my experience at a private reception for Senator Obama here in Florida on May 21.

As I mentioned in the interview, I was able to give a copy of my book to Senator Obama and he wrote this about it:

Dear Claudia,

Thank you so much for the copy of your autobiography God Spare Life. Your struggle to break boundaries never before crossed is truly inspirational. I encourage continuing to spread your message to everyone that we should never give up our hopes and dreams. Of course, the greatest gift you can give is your support, and I truly appreciate it. ...

Click on the image to enlarge and see the rest of Senator Obama's letter to me.

As you can tell from my smile, my words, and my voice in the interview above, I'm in turn inspired by Senator Obama and his message. When I and my classmates took over the Vassar College administration building in 1969 and wondered if we would accomplish our goals or be expelled, I could not yet envision this day.

Now we have an African American ready to be nominated by a major party for President ... and serious talk of a woman as his running mate! As I said in the interview, the feeling for me is magical.

How can you help make diversity happen?

The AAOS made this wonderful video to help introduce me as this year's Diversity Award winner. But my hope is that you'll see this as more about how each person can contribute to changing things for the better:

Video courtesy AAOS

Diversity Award: 2008 and Beyond

What an amazing week I had at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in San Francisco last week! In addition to receiving the AAOS 2008 Diversity Award, I had the opportunity to meet the future I've worked so long to help bring about.

You may recognize these two shining examples:

> > >    > > > 

That's Debi Thomas in the middle (yes, the former US and World Champion and Olympic medalist figure skater), who's now a practicing orthopaedic surgeon. She attended the Trilogy Breakfast where we bring together the African American, women's, and Latino societies of orthopaedic surgeons. 

And the third photo is Kalilah Allen-Harris (Miss Black USA 2007), who is in medical school studying toward becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Kalilah and I were on a panel presentation entitled "She Can Do It" and she expresses the spirit of passing on what we've been given on her own blog where she wrote, "Being able to encourage people is such a blessing."

Here's more about my whirlwind week from a conversation with Yvonne DiVita and Tom Collins last Friday (just click the Play ">" button to listen, or the link below to download the MP3):

MP3 File

Stop back soon for another segment from this conversation.

Adinkra Symbols - Akokonan

Guest Post - Tom Collins

As I mentioned in the last Adinkra post, Akokonan is one of my favorites among the symbols chosen for God Spare Life. My reason is not so much about its appearance or literal translation, but what it symbolizes: the parental love, nurturing, and protection that is so central to Claudia's life.

Akokonan was chosen to characterize the four chapters entitled "Daisy's Watch" that are written from the perspective of Claudia's mother, Daisy Mae Thomas.

Some insight into why can be found in the "Foreword" by Milfred C. Fierce, Ph.D., who's known Claudia and her family since her undergraduate days at Vassar. Dr. Fierce describes Daisy as protecting Claudia "with defiance, tenacity, and prayerful vigil" and finds a core theme of the book to be "a mother's love, faith, trust, and resolve."

(The Foreword and the first Daisy's Watch chapter can be read in the free sample pages from God Spare Life.)

And in the books's Dedications, Claudia herself described Daisy as "a woman who embodies the love, nurturing and sacrifice that is motherhood."

These descriptions from those who knew her well should help you understand why Akokonan was chosen for the "Daisy's Watch" chapters. But a bit more about why it bacame one of my personal favorites can be gleaned from this expanded explanation of the symbol at Jean MacDonald's site:

"The full name of this symbol translates to 'The hen treads on her chicks, but she does not kill them.' This represents the ideal nature of parents, being both protective and corrective. An exhortation to nurture children, but a warning not to pamper them."

Those who've read the book will appreciate how this applies so perfectly to both Daisy and to Claudia's father, Charles, as well.

Next time, God Spare Life, we'll take a look at Nea Onnim No Sua A, Ohu.

Adinkra Symbols - Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie

Guest Post - Tom Collins

When Claudia first told us she wanted to make Nyame Biribi Wo Soro part of the cover design for her book and what that symbol meant to her, I confess I had never heard of Adinkra symbols. I hate not knowing stuff, especially if it's important to my work, so I starting researching.

I discovered a number of sources online, including the official website of the Republic of Ghana. That website has been completely redesigned and the pages on Adinkra removed, but here's a link to the previous version (some of the images are missing) at the Internet Archive. The most comprehensive online resource I found was at Jean McDonald's Well-Tempered Web Design site.

Claudia, the better scholar, cites to The Adinkra Dictionary, A Visual Primer on the Language of Adinkra, by W. Bruce Willis. She offers this brief introduction that helps explain why we elected to use them throughout God Spare Life:

"Adinkra symbols are designs that originated in West Africa, in a region that is now known as the Republic of Ghana. They have been used for centuries as a form of language to relay messages. Adinkra symbols are parables that represent spiritual concepts and also honor human characteristics. Originally printed on cloths to be worn during funerals, Adinkra markings can now be found widely in fabrics and wood carvings of West Africa."

Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie is found literally throughout the book: It was chosen to appear in the page header on the left side pages, accompanying the book title, God Spare Life.

Why this one? In her Prologue, Claudia begins by describing herself as "a woman of science" and ends by reminding us, "There have been several miracles in my life that cannot be explained by science."

Next time, God spare life, the symbol that might be my personal favorite in the book, Akokonan.

My Sister Said ...

Here's what happened when I learned I had kidney cancer:

As Catherine said on the video, it's so important for everyone to learn all they can about becoming an organ donor. Some great online resources include the National Foundation for Transplants and the National Kidney Foundation (which has posted a review of my book by heart transplant recipient Jim Gleason).

Adinkra Symbols - Nyame Biribi Wo Soro

Guest Post - by Tom Collins

I've had the wonderful opportunity to work with Claudia Thomas on the layout her book and on implementing her desire to enhance the telling of her story using the Adinkra symbols that have become so meaningful to her. A sampling of the symbols chosen for the book appear down the left side of her blog. Claudia has asked me to write a series of posts about the symbols and how they've been used to characterize each chapter in her story.

Claudia saw Adinkra symbols carved in doors at the Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and as she explains,

"the Nyame Biribi Wo Soro symbol, resembled an anatomic drawing of two kidneys. This symbol signifies 'God is in the heavens,' symbolizing hope and inspiration. Nyame Biribi Wo Soro has been chosen to appear on the cover of God Spare Life, not only for its meaning but also because of the importance to the author of kidney transplantation."

The version of the symbol above accompanies the Prologue and Chapters 17 and 19, where her loving and courageous sister Catherine endured the multiple attempts required to give Claudia a live-saving kidney.

Here's the more artistic version, created by designer Karin Choi for the cover of God Spare Life.

And I'm sure you'll understand how Nyame Biribi Wo Soro took on such deep significance for Claudia and why she wanted it on the cover (overlapping the picture of Catherine and Claudia):

Next time, God spare life, we'll take a look at another Adinkra symbol, Onyankopon Adom Nti Biribiara Beye Yie, and start exploring the origins and significance of Adinkra symbols.

An Open Letter to Senator Obama

Dear Senator Obama,

I declared my support of your candidacy early, and proudly counted myself among those who lifted you to the top of the first fundraising tally. Having witnessed your keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, I could only be impressed by your brilliance. When your wife joined you on stage, I was impressed even further that she bore no physical resemblance to a trophy wife, and I sensed the prize was hidden inside of her. When you announced you planned to enter the 2008 presidential race, I was ecstatic. Reading your best-selling published works confirmed your intellect.

As a child of the 1960s and a pioneer, I applaud you. I am a graduate of Vassar College, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Yale University Orthopaedic Surgery residency training program. During those years, I participated in the take-over of Vassar’s Main Administration Building in 1969, and in 1980 became the first woman to complete orthopaedic surgery training at Yale and the first African American female orthopaedic surgeon in the United States.

Coming of age during that civil rights era taught me to use the necessary means to crash through barricades and open doors. The obstacles I faced due to my hue were far greater than those due to my gender.

I know what it took for you to succeed in climbing the Ivy League ladder, and to become the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. There are those who would have us believe that, as it relates to people of color, these honors are handed out to the undeserving. But from one pioneer to another, I know that you had to be better than the competition then, and you still have to be better now. The civil rights struggle continues.

As a person of color, I have been deeply disturbed by the political statements of those who seem to be under the illusion that the fight for civil rights is obsolete. Commentary from the media, including “Black” talk radio, has echoed the phrase, “Don’t vote for someone just because of the color of their skin.” Well, Hell, don’t vote against them for that reason either.

It’s amazing that 99.9% of this type of commentary comes from people who have colored skin, and it’s unfortunate that, included in these numbers, are those who have name recognition and are influential in the African American community.

Have we “progressed” so far that we now have the luxury of beating down our own in the interest of being “fair,” or have we regressed so far that the bottom of the crab barrel is as far as we can see? Have we lost our vision because we can not envision ourselves as presidential candidates, and therefore can not embrace you?  Are we envious because you have trod the road that we dare not? If the answer is no, then how can we bring ourselves to repeatedly sound that discordant trumpet?

The voters in South Carolina seem to be an exception. You are strongly supported by that African American community, and you seem to be Black enough for them. May the voters in the South Carolina primary raise the consciousness of the nation and set an example of the power that unity can bring.

Claudia Thomas, M.D.

Where'd the God Spare Life title come from?

That's the question I get asked most often about my book. Chances are that many will wonder about the way the phrase is used in the name of this blog, too.

So I thought I'd start with the answer I gave recently on the African American Legends television show, hosted by Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr., on CUNY-TV 75 in New York City:

(This short excerpt is from the show that aired on 10/15/07 and 10/20/07;
you can view the entire interview at the CUNY-TV75 website.)

What an honor to be featured on a show with a name like African American Legends! And to be included among the long list of guests on the show going back to 1994 — in addition to Dr. Brown himself. His impressive academic accomplishments and decades of contributions to African American history trace back to his days Squadron Commander of the 100th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group, better known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Earlier this year, he was among the group awarded a special Congressional Gold Medal to be displayed at the Smithsonian (he is shown here accepting his replica):

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Back to the title, my hope for this blog is that it will help me to "continue sharing my story, God spare life." After viewing the video, does that make more sense now?