Black History Lesson: Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb and veterinary history
Learn about one of the first Black women licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the country
Who Is Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb?
BLACK HISTORY FACT
Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb is the first Black woman to graduate from veterinary school in the United States, thus becoming the first Black woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the country. In 1949, she also became the first Black member of the Women's Veterinary Association.
It is very rare that I don’t enjoy scrolling through my Instagram feed to see what cute dogs I’m following and what they’re up to. But this is the first time since I was 9 years old where I thought dogs — minus mine — were getting in the way of what I wanted to see. I was looking for political posts, social justice posts, boycott posts, election posts and anti-DEI news. What I would normally ooh and aah about was met with, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, what are the senators doing to stop the idiot?”
Recommended Read: “10 Ideas For How To Celebrate Black History Month At Work”
Then I realized I was getting a headache — the kind that wasn’t going away. I was doomscrolling 24/7. Sure, when a couple of relatives texted me something their own dogs did, I laughed. I know their dogs though. There’s personalization there. But even while walking down the street, a pet store owner had to chase me down the street to get my attention because I was too busy listening to “The Reidout With Joy Reid” followed by CNN’s “One Thing” and “Assembly Required With Stacey Abrams.”
Then, on February 1, I did something other than doomscroll. I started searching for Black History facts that I didn’t know about (and I’d like to believe I know a lot of them judging from how Afrocentric my elementary school was).
Recommended Read: “Why does Black History Month offend you? ~ No one is forcing you to celebrate BHM, so stop complaining about it.”
As a two-time Election Judge who also reported on canvassing for a news assignment and popped in for aldermen meetings, I care about what happens locally and nationally. I lose patience quickly with people who don’t care about politics. I’ll turn on my heels and walk away from anybody saying their vote doesn’t matter. If it didn’t matter, there’d be no need for the Voting Rights Act or Atlanta residents getting threatened with prison time for bringing water to the voting lines — regardless of whether they’re 150 feet away.
Still, I realized that when I was casually looking up Black History facts, my heart rate was going down and the headache was going away. I went back to Instagram and saw a few videos I’d rolled my eyes at and watched them with fresh eyes.
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For my own sanity, I’m going to force myself to take a few breaks from watching the news and do something I enjoy: post a black history fact each day on my website at ShamontielVaughn.com and go back to enjoying one of my favorite forms of furry entertainment: dogs. (At one point, I was rejecting dog walking requests from my favorites. I just didn’t want to do anything but walk my own dog and come home to write about, edit or stare at political news. I would sit on the dog couch with her and doomscroll some more.)
What I realized on February 1 was that I was going to spend the entire 28 days paying attention to that repulsive vote from 77,303,568 people and his DEI rants instead of enjoying Black History Month, the same month (and people) that he’s been dismissive of. I will never be OK with dismissing Black History Month. So this February, I’m going to try to blend three things:
Introduce my subscribers to Black history facts they may not know.
Introduce pet facts they may not know.
Highlight a Black-owned product from Amazon (who may be doing less with DEI but has not backed down from highlighting small businesses and still has a Black History Month page).
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As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn a percentage from purchases with my referral links.
As displayed above, meet Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb made history in veterinary medicine.
See you next week for another Black History pet fact.
Shamontiel is a dog lover to her core: 621 completed walks with 99 dogs, eight dog-housesittings and six dog boardings at the time of this publication.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday.
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