"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : MARY "MAME" STEWART JOSENBERGER

"Oh Susanna, don't you cry for me ; for I come from Louisiana where the Louisiana Legislators and Government Politicians are unscrupulous as can be!" Well, I don't know about the rest of the people in Louisiana, but for me, it's pretty discouraging to find out that Governor Jeff Landry's "New Budget Proposal" includes such disturbing amounts of funding for prison systems and state police in Louisiana, while slashing funding for education and teacher's salaries as well as turning his nose up at medicaid recipients.Sadly, this reminds me of the story I heard about how the politicians got people to go along with the "Income Tax System" in America. According to the story, the politicians got the masses to go along with the new income tax proposal by telling them that the new income tax was only going to be levied on the "WEALTHIEST AMERICANS." However, people found our later that they were told and sold a half-truth! You see, the part about the "WEALTHIEST AMERICANS" being the only ones taxed was just for the first 2-3 years of the plan. Around years 3 & 4, the rest of the masses would also have to pay the new income taxes too! Hey, don't feel bad if you can't make the connection between the income tax story and Governor Jeff Landry 's budget proposal. Believe it or not, it took a few days for me to make the connection myself.Those Louisiana Legislators and Government Politicians are something-else, aren't they? Oh well, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer. Mary "Mame" Stewart Josenberger was born on August 3, 1868 to Frank and Mary Stewart, in Oswego, New York. Before moving to attend Fisk University in Tennessee, Mary attended the Owego Free Academy in New York. At Fisk University, one of her fellow classmates was W.E.B. Dubois. In 1888, Mary graduated from Fisk University, earning a BA degree in education. A few of her early teaching jobs included teaching at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, the State Norman School for Negroes in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and teaching at the Howard School in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Mary was also known as a shrewd business woman. After her husband, William R. Josenberger died in 1909, she took on the duties of running their family businesses consisting of a funeral home, an event/entertainment hall, a burial insurance company, and rental property in the Taborian Heights area of Little Rock, Arkansas. Also. Mary was involved in several community organizations. She was involved in the NAACP, the Colored Knights of Pythias, the National Association of Colored Women, and the Arkansas Association of Colored Women. Additionally, she served as president of the organization she co-founded in 1898, "The Phillis Wheatley Federated Club," for a whopping 56 years!!! After living over 90 years and achieving many great things, Mary "Mame" Stewart Josenberger died on September 29, 1964. In closing, I would like to say that Mary's life is a testament of what a determined Black woman can accomplish over a lifetime.