No, I haven’t lost my mind. I realize March is recognized as Women’s Month. I was tickled to hear James Brown’s 1964 song “It’s A Man’s World” used as the music for the trailer advertising a new show on CBS about a female police chief. The real message of the song is “But it wouldn’t be nothing, without a Woman or a Girl.” Yup, because the fact is we are here because we were birthed by a woman—but I digress.
The song lists inventions by men. Of course, I started thinking of things women invented. Interesting things like Jeanne Villepreux-Power’s aquarium to study marine life; Margaret Mattie Knight’s machine that made paper bags; Josephine Cochrane’s mechanical dishwasher; Marie Beasley’s folding life raft; Mary Anderson’s windshield wipers that were rejected until her patent expired when then they were required on cars; Grace Hooper’s code for computers; Actress Hedy Lamarr’s co-founding of frequency hopping that encrypted torpedo control signals; Gladys West’s program that led to the GPS system; Dr. Patricia Era Bath’s laser that removes cataracts; Sarah E. Goode’s folding cabinet beds, also known as Murphy beds; Marie Van Brittan Brown’s pioneering of the closed-circuit TV system; and Valerie Thomas’ image processing system that sent the first satellite image to space. I would list more inventions by women, but I don’t want to deprive you of the research.
My point is we all add to society. My concern is we aren’t being treated equally for our contributions. Some early inventions by women were not recognized until years later or after being “improved” by a man. We are subject to pay differences, less airtime and rotations for our music, and limited opportunities. My response is a four-letter word—vote.
My faith tradition says that there isn’t male or female: we are all equal. If you want to learn more about working together to build a better world, join us. Be a part of ministries and partnerships that are intentional about inclusion, bridging the church and community, and addressing food scarcity through our pantry and food distribution. Worship during a non-traditional time, 9:45am Sundays, with a nursery and a sign language interpreter available. You can learn about us on our webpage www.eumcbeltsville.com or Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/EUMCBeltsville/ . Until next time.
Work for equality
Organize for inclusion
Make a difference
Engage people
Nurture our nation
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