Spring 2026 Part 6.

 

Conclusion (for Spring 2026)

Spring of 2026 will exist every soon in a little over a month. Spring represents many things to so many human beings. It is a time of personal reflection and the realization that new beginnings can be necessary for personal and social growth. It is a season filled with a temperate climate in many parts of the world, flowers blossoming, and a renewed sense of duty to stand up for justice for all. One important precept is that we must have hope for the future. I am always a realist and an optimist by nature as an Older Millennial (or Xennial). Many folks on grand juries are resisting the unjust, authoritarian policies of Donald Trump (who publicly said that he hates his enemies, he said that he doesn't ask God for forgiveness, and he lied to say that the 2020 election was stolen). For example, a grand jury refused to allow the federal government (via Jeannine Piro, the U.S. attorney for Washington and a Trump ally) to indict six Democratic lawmakers (who are all veterans or members of the intelligence community) for crimes. These six human beings just wanted servicemen and servicewomen to refuse illegal orders. Their statements are protected by the First Amendment, and they weren't illegal or immoral. Trump has hatred and distrust of dissent against his policies, but these six Congressional leaders stood up to defend our democracy that our ancestors personally built. A grand jury in my state of Virginia has refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. So, grand juries can do positive actions to improve our democratic society. The fascism and terrorism of ICE against Americans (like Americans being hit with dangerous chemicals, for Americans to be harassed, and for one city council member being assaulted. Even undocumented immigrants should be treated as human beings, not less than human) have no justification, despite what anyone has to say. The attacks on our black museums, grand, Orwellian book bans, and trying to force public and private universities to unconditionally support the MAGA movement are not only wrong but also unjust. We are clearly committed to protecting our environment, expanding our infrastructure and institutions, enjoying our civil rights, improving our health care, strengthening voting rights, and maintaining our civil liberties. We have one life to live, and we have the God-given right to live to the fullest, filled with righteousness, holiness, and courage.

 

By Timothy

Spring 2026 Part 5.

 

 

 

Professional Wrestling

 

Of all of these decades of my life, I never written anything in-depth about professional wrestling. I wrote about basketball, football, track and field, volleyball, soccer, hockey, and the Olympics before. Today, I love to deal with new challenges, and this issue should be discussed for many reasons. One reason is that millions of people globally are fans of professional wrestling from America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Oceania, South America, Canada, etc. Also, I like to write about the diverse cultures of humanity. Professional wrestling relates to a form of theater and entertainment that requires skill, charisma, athleticism, and mock combat. It's an art that many people sacrificed their lives for. Cable channels like A&E, Vice, etc. have done incredible, groundbreaking work in documenting the complex nature (including the highs and lows) of professional wrestling spanning decades. I will write about the elephant in the room too. That is that much of the history of professional wrestling deals with a network of mostly white people for decades (let's keep it real), some people in the industry are racists and sexists (not all), and the culture of professional wrestling can be emotionally straining (as these wrestlers work year round across the world with little time for rest or visiting families and loved ones). There are past legends and modern-day legends in professional wrestling like Macho Man, Ricky Steamboat, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, John Cena, the Steiner Brothers, etc. You have to be emotionally strong to deal with professional wrestling, and many professional wrestlers are real life wrestlers, athletes, and experts in martial arts and mixed martial arts. For example, we know that Bianca Belair had done track and field and basketball, Jade Cargill played basketball in Florida, Lola Vice was involved in Bellator as an MMA fighter, we know that Blackman is a trained martial artist, and we know that Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar are legitimate wrestling championships. In professional wrestling, there are storylines, gimmicks, babyface, heels, kayfabe, and other terminology. In our time, more people understand many of the unsung wrestlers from back in the day and today. Professional wrestling is a scripted performance with predetermined winners, but the injuries wrestlers suffer are 100 percent real. You can get hurt in real life with these performances. Therefore, professional wrestling has expanded into a billion-dollar industry that has inspired crowds the world over. 

Rules

There are many rules in professional wrestling. Professional wrestlers nominally compete under rules promulgated by wrestling promotions. However, the rules are not legitimate standards for sporting activity, instead serving as a basis to advance plotlines, similar to the artificial constraints imposed in other fictional universes. Sociologist Thomas S. Henricks has argued the rules serve as a basis for a structuralist moral order, serving to advance plot lines involving charismatic heroes applying an instrumentally rationalist approach to social conflicts. 

Professional wrestlers do not follow an industry-standard set of rules, unlike most sporting events, which generally have a governing body to regulate competitions. While each promoter can set their own standards, promoters have long understood that fans enjoy professional wrestling more when all matches appear to follow a consistent set of rules. The rules described in this section represent common standards but may not precisely align with the ruleset of any specific promotion. Matches are staged between two or more sides ("corners"). Each corner may consist of one wrestler, or a team of two or more. Most team matches are nominally governed by tag team rules. Other matches present under the premise of a free-for-alls, with multiple combatants but no teams. In all variants, there can be only one winning team or wrestler.

Matches generally take place within a wrestling ring, an elevated square canvas mat with posts on each corner. A cloth apron hangs over the edges of the ring. Three horizontal ropes or cables surround the ring, suspended with turnbuckles which are connected to the posts. For safety, the ropes are padded at the turnbuckles and cushioned mats surround the floor outside the ring. Guardrails or a similar barrier enclose this area from the audience. Wrestlers are generally expected to stay within the confines of the ring, though matches sometimes end up moving outside the ring, and even into the audience. The match can end in a fall by pinning the opponent for three seconds, submission, disqualification of the opposnent, countout, and knocking out the opponent. Most wrestling matches last for a set number of falls. Some matches can last for 20, 30, or 60 minutes in an Iron Man Match. Referres are involved in professional wrestlign matches. The referree acts as the final abritator in the fictional rules. Special guest referres are common.Tag team matches have unique rules too. People tag to allow another part of the team to participate in the match. Disqualification can come by illegal hold or moves, deliberate injury to an opponent, outside inference, unjust striking, low blow, laying hands on the referre, pulling an opponent's mask off during the match, and other actions. There can be a draw or no contest. 

Training and Qualifications

Involving professional wrestling, there is massive training and qualifications. Physical fitness is viewed as the minimum requirement for entry in the field. Most professional wrestlers have least some athletic background or training like in the past with Kurt Angle, Ron Simmons, Undertaker, Stone Cold, The Rock, and the present with Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, Charlotte Flair, etc. Professional wrestlers have formal training in specialized professional wrestling schools or academics. These places are independent or associated with a specific promotion. No one goes into professional wrestling with a free ride. Candidates are usually trained and coached by experienced professional wrestlers. Training regiments include both athletic and performative aspects of professional wrestling like physical fitness, choreography, and dramatization. Trainees are usually pitted against each other or with their instructors in matches before small crowds to demonstrate and refine their skill in improvisation, mock combat, and stage presence. There are risk in professional wrestling too. Many people faced life changing injuries, accidents, and deaths like Owen Hart. Some strikes in wrestling are stiff, especially in Japan. Stiff means using excessive force when using a move that will cause real increased legitimate pain a professional wrestler. Professional wrestlers know of the risk. As Professional wrestler Davey Richards have said in 2015, "We train to take damage, we know we are going to take damge and we accept that." 

 

Its History

Professional wrestling, as we know it, existed from the early 1800s in Western Europe, Britain, and Ireland. There were showmen who combined wrestling and showmanship. There were wrestlers with names like Heruclean Flower, Edward, the bone wrecker, etc. By 1830, , French showman, Jean Exbroyat formed the first modern wrestlers' circus troupe and established a rule not to execute holds below the waist — a style he named "flat hand wrestling." This new style soon spread to the rest of Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, Denmark and Russia under the names of Greco-Roman wrestling, Classic wrestling or French wrestling. By the end of the 19th century, this modern "Greco-Roman" wrestling style went on to become the most fashionable sport in Europe, and in 1898 the Frenchman Paul Pons, "the Colossus" became the first Professional World Champion.

The modern style of professional wrestling, popularized by the United States and United Kingdom during the late 19th century, is called the catch-as-catch can style. Originally thought of as unorthodox and more lax in style, catch wrestling differs from Greco-Roman in its allowed grapples; Greco-Roman strictly prohibits grabbing below the waist, while catch wrestling allows holds above and below the waist, including leg grips. Both catch wrestling and Greco-Roman were popular, and fully competitive, amateur and professional sports. But, from the late 19th century onwards, a sub-section of catch wrestling changed slowly into the choreographed sport entertainment now known as "professional wrestling", recognized as much for its theatrical antics and entertainment as wrestling ability. By the early 20th century, many  professional wrestlers promoted a variety act to the public. Some were involved in bodybuilder strongman events. There were various American and European professional title holders like the American Heavyweight Champion Tom Jenkins and the Greco-Roman title Georg Hackenschmidt. The World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first recognized professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created in 1905 to identify the best catch wrestler in the world. It was also the first wrestling championship known to have a physical representation of the belt. Russian-born George Hackenschmidt won the inaugural championship defeating American-born Tom Jenkins in New York City. America's profressional wrestling popularity declined from 1915 to 1920 because of World War I and people's questioning the legitimacy and status as a competitive sport. Therefore, professional wrestlers used tag team wrestling, new wrestlers existed (like Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt), and wreslters formed angles and feuds. By this time, professional wrestling spread into Australia, Japan, Mexico, and all over the world. Established names such as Lou Thesz, Dr. Jerry Graham and Gorgeous George toured Australia by the 1950s. Many of the greatest professional wrestlers were involved in Japanese wrestling leagues like Dory Funk, Jr., Terry Funk, and Harley Race, all of whom wrestled for Baba in Japan. Some Japanese wrestling league used actual combat acts in their performances. Rikidōzan was a huge star in Japan in the 1950s, and he is commonly credited with bringing professional wrestling to Japan. 

In the early 20th century, professional wrestling was mostly a regional phenomenon in Mexico until Salvador Lutteroth founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Enterprise") in 1933, giving the sport a national foothold for the first time. In 1948, wrestling reached new heights after a loose confederation was formed between independent wrestling companies. This was known as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In the late 1940s to 1950s, the NWA chose Lou Thesz to unify the various world championships into a single "World Heavyweight" title. Thesz's task was not easy, as some promoters, reluctant to lose face, went so far as to shoot title matches to keep their own champions popular with the fans.

Following the advent of television, professional wrestling matches began to be aired nationally during the 1950s, reaching a larger fanbase than ever before. This was a time of enormous growth for professional wrestling, as rising demand and national expansion made it a much more popular and lucrative form of entertainment than in the prior decades. This was called a "Golden Age" for the wrestling industry. It was also a time of great change in both the character and professionalism of wrestlers as a result of the appeal of television. Wrestling fit naturally with television because it was easy to understand, had drama, comedy and colorful characters, and was inexpensive to produce. From 1948 to 1955, each of the three major television networks broadcast wrestling shows; the largest supporter being the DuMont Television Network. 

The famous wrestlers of the 1950s were George Wagner, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, Killer Kowalski, Verne George, and Japanese superstar Rikidozan. There was The Portland Wrestling League, Whipper Billy Watson, and the Fabulous Moolah. Early women wrestlers from back in the day were Mildred Burke, Mae Young, Ann LaVerne, Yulie Brynner, Gladys Gillum, Elvirus Nodgrass, and African American professional wrestlers (who are Ethel Johnson, Babs Wingo, Marva Scott, and Kathleen Wimbley). Many black wrestlers back then often competed in the Jim Crow South. They broke down barriers. Ethel Johnson performed greatly in the ring too. The Flying Wingo Sisters (of Ethel, Babs, and Marva) worked together and has a record 3,611 fans in Baltimore (in 1952), and 9,000 in Kansas City in 1954. There was Sweet Georgia Brown too. The iconic wrestlers of the 1960s were Burno Sammartino, The Original Sheik, Bearcat Wright, Gorilla Monsoon, Pat Patterson, Rocky Johnson (the father of the Rock), Rip Hawk, Harley Race, etc. There were various Territories of wrestling regions with stars too. There were the rise of the NWA and the WWWF (now it's the WWE). By the 1970s, there were Bruno too, Superstar Billy Graham (who was a predecessor of Hulk Hogan, Roman Regin, and those with a bodybuilder look), Andre the Giant, Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, The Fabulous Moolah, Jerry Lawler (who was in the Memphis territory), The Original Sheik, Bobo Brazil (a trailblazing African American wrestler), Pat Patterson, the Won Erich family, and Rocky Johnson (a NWA superstar). By the 1980s, there were tons of legends like Ric Flair, Roddy Piper, Macho Man, Andre the Giant, Hogan, Jacke Roberts, Ted DiBiase, The Ultimate Warrior, Jimmy Snukka, Ricky Steamboat, the Hart Foundation, the British Bulldogs., Bobby Hennan, and Miss Elizabeth. The 1980s saw professional wrestling reach more into television and the MTV Generation. 

 

In the 1990s, there were Stone Cold Steven Austin, the Undertaker, The Rock, Bret Hart, Goldbert, Mankind, Triple H, Sean Michaels, Kevin Nash, Randy Savage, Sid Vicious, Owen Hart, DDP, Chyna (who broke barriers for women in wrestling), Jacqueline, The Legion of Doom, Booker T, and tons of wrestlers. This time saw WCW and WWE competing against each other with the WCW winning for a time until 1998 when the WWE brought Mike Tyson to referee Stone Cold Steve Austin and Sean Michaels. The NWO was formed in the 1990s being the biggest heel turn in wrestling history filled with Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall. D-Generation X was formed too with Sean Michaels, Triple H, Chyna, X-Pac, New Age Outlawz, and others. This time saw the Attitude Era when more sex, violence, and controversial themes were shown on professional wrestling television. By the 2000s, it was the Ruthless Aggression Era with John Cena, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Lita, Edge, Randy Orton, Kurt Angel, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, RVD, Sabu, Booker T, JBL, Umaga, Chris Benoit, Bryan, Dean Malenko, and other people. The 2000s saw the tragic death of Eddie Guerrero and the cowardly murderer Chris Benoit killing his own wife and child. By the 2010s, a new generation of wrestlers existed like PG/Reality era of John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Shield, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, Nakamura, Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch. We have Kofi Kingson, Big E, Xavier Woods, The Wyatt Family, Brock Lesnar, The Naiz, Cesaro, Sheamus, and The Rock making a comeback. By the 2020s, there has been a mixture of a return to old school storylines with new school technology filled with Jon Moxley, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Rhea Ripley, Bayley, MJF, Will Ospreay, Okada, Toni Storm, Iyo Sky, El Hijo Del Vikingo, Bianca Belair, Naomi, Drew McIntyre, Jey Uso, Jade Cargill, Tiffany Stratton, and others. John Cena retired during this 2020s era too along with AJ Styles. 

The Diversity of Leagues

The Culture of Professional Wrestling

The culture of professional wrestling has been complex and diverse for years and decades. There is a brotherhood, a sisterhood, and family type of vibe involving wrestling. The reason is that wrestlers are on the road sometimes more than 300 days per year, so they do act as a family at times. They know the business inside and out, and they realize that sacrifices are made for their jobs. The professional wrestlers realize that hard work must be enacted to exist in an excellent product. Some professional wrestlers may have real life heat or real tensions in real life (i.e. Sean Michaels and Bret Hart hated each other in real life for years until just a few years ago), but the vast majority of them act as professionals. The fan experience is a major part of wrestling culture. They aren't just found in the crowds inside a stadium where wrestlers perform. Many fans visit wrestlers at meet and greet and specialized ceremonies where interactions take place (especially days before Wrestle Mania, Summer Slam, etc.). At the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and retirement events, fans are there too. There is no professional wrestling culture without the fans there. Merchandise is a massive part of wrestling culture as well. Video games, shirts, shoes (like the new Jade Cargill Nike shoes), jewelry, mugs, cups, DVDs, and other consumer items are bought by individuals globally. The selling of these goods helps fund companies and keeps the interests in various wrestling institutions. The professional wrestling business is a multibillion-dollar yearly industry that allows professional wrestlers (current and former ones) in movies like The Rock, Batista, Goldberg, Roddy Piper, John Cena, Hulk Hogan (I don't agree with him involving many issues. I just mention him for historical relevance), etc. Another cultural aspect of professional wrestling is travel. Traveling allows human beings to see different cultures and American wrestling leagues have visited the world from Japan to the region of Europe. Also, wrestling from Japan, Mexico, etc. has influenced modern day professional wrestling now. 

Conclusion

Professional wrestling has encompassed numerous generations in American culture and global culture in indomitable ways. From selling out arenas worldwide (from MSG in NYC, Las Vegas, and to Berlin) to massive fan clubs growing, professional wrestling history has played a massive role in the development of modern-day culture. Its history has not been a crystal stair to keep it real. There are numerous true stories of sexism, bar fights, racism, deaths, steroids, nepotism (as found in the good ole boy network as accurately pointed out by icon Booker T), economic exploitation, hypocrisy, and other evils found in the professional wrestling atmosphere. Also, there has been positive news in professional wrestling over the course of 40 years. There has been an increase of black people, other people of color, poor people, and women involved in professional wrestling (with a wide array of athleticism, ring performances, charisma, communication skills, etc.) from Bianca Belair, the late Chyna, Trick Williams, Jade Cargill, Naomi, Booker T., Rhea Ripley, The Rock, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, etc. We witness tons of professional wrestlers working in legitimate philanthropy to help those in poverty, suffering illnesses, and diseases, and others suffering massive pain. They have inspired people to achieve their own measure of excellence (whether that will be STEM, education,  sports, literature, fashion, entrepreneurship,  and economics in general). Excellence isn't just about you. It's about much a person can give and sacrifice to assist their neighbors in their daily lives. Life is like a dream but to be taken seriously. Professional wrestlers put their lives on the line to be pioneers, athletes, performance makers, and story makers. Therefore, we will always honor great professional wrestlers who represent integrity, creativity, and the love of the art of visionary human expression.

By Timothy

Spring 2026 Part 4.

 

Alice Coachman

 

Unsung athletes are numerous in the longevity of human history. One unsung athlete, being one of the greatest athletes of all time, was Sister Alice Coachman. A lot of people don't know who she is, but she was a legendary human being. She was born and raised in the South to be the first black woman to win an Olympic gold medal. She lived to be exactly 90 years old. For almost one century, she has inspired the whole world with her talent, strength, and a sense of destiny to fulfill her own goals and aspirations. Involving track and field, Coachman loved to perform the long jump in athletic competition. She established a profoundly potent foundation where future black women athletes (and other athletes of every color) have shined like Nicola Adams, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Gabby Douglas, Carmelita Jeter, Dominique Dawes, Simone Manuel, Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, Allyson Felix, Melissa Jefferson-Wooten, Simone Biles, Ibtihaj Muhammad, Florence Griffith Joyner, Wilma Rudolph, Syndey McLaughlin, Mo'ne Davis, Noami Osaka, Misty Copeland, and other human beings. At the end of the day, we have purpose in life. The present and the future are genuinely cultivated by the past. So, we honor Alice Coachman as a means to inspire us to move forward during out time in 2026 and beyond into the subsequent future. Alice Coachman was an icon of black culture and black history forever indeed. 

Her Early Life

Alice Coachman was born on November 9, 1923, in Albany, Georgia. She was the fifth child of Fred and Evelyn Coachman's ten children. Coachman was unable to access athletic training facilities or participate in organized sports because of her skin color. Back then, there was massive widespread opposition to girls and women being involved in sports activities. Still, she rose. Coachman trained to use what was available to her. She ran shoeless along the dirt roads near her home. She used homemade equipment to practice her jumping. Her 5th-grade teacher, Cora Bailey (when Coachman was at Monroe Street Elementary School), and her aunt, Carrie Spry, encouraged Coachman to pursue her dreams. There were reservations from her parents. Upon enrolling at Madison High School in 1938, she joined the track team, working with Harry E. Lash to develop her skill as an athlete. Within a year she drew the attention of the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1939 she joined the Tuskegee Preparatory School at the age of 16 after being offered a scholarship. The scholarship required her to work while studying and training, which included cleaning and maintaining sports facilities as well as mending uniforms.

Her Athletic Career

Coachman went on to graduate with a degree in dressmaking from the Tuskegee Institute in 1946. The following year, she continued her studies at Albany State College, receiving a B.S. in Home Economics with a minor in science in 1949. She became a teacher and track-and-field instructor. Her athletic career grew rapidly. Prior to arriving at the Tuskegee Preparatory School, Coachman competed in the Amateur Athletic Union's (AAU) Women's National Championships breaking the college and National high jump records while competing barefoot. Her unusual jumping style was a combination of straight jumping and western roll techniques. Coachman dominated the AAU outdoor high jump championship from 1939 through 1948, winning ten national championships in a row. Her success earned her the nickname the "Tuskegee Flash." In addition to her high jump accomplishments, she won national championships in the 50-meter dash, the 100-meter dash and with the 400-meter relay team as a student at the Tuskegee Institute. She won 26 national championships during her nine years of competition, more than any other woman with the exception of her Polish-American rival Stella Walsh. During the same period, Coachman won three conference championships playing as a guard on the Tuskegee women's basketball team. Despite being in her prime, Coachman was unable to compete in the 1940 and 1944 Olympic Games as they were canceled because of World War II. In the opinion of sportswriter Eric Williams, "Had she competed in those canceled Olympics, we would probably be talking about her as the No. 1 female athlete of all time."

Coachman's first opportunity to compete on a global stage was during the 1948 Olympic Games in London. She qualified for the US Olympic team with a high jump of 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) breaking the previous 16-year-old record by 3⁄4 in (19 mm). In the high jump finals of the 1948 Summer Olympics, Coachman leaped 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) on her first try. Her nearest rival, Great Britain's Dorothy Tyler, matched Coachman's jump, but only on her second try. Coachman was the only American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in athletics in 1948. Her medal was presented by King George VI.

 

Life After Professional Athletics

Upon her return to the United States after the Olympics, Coachman had become a celebrity. Soon after meeting President Harry Truman and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, she was honored with parades from Atlanta to Albany and was thrown a party by Count Basie. In 1952, she became the first African-American woman to endorse an international product when she was signed as a spokesperson by the Coca-Cola Company, which featured her prominently on billboards alongside 1936 Olympic winner Jesse Owens. In her hometown, Alice Avenue, and Coachman Elementary School were named in her honor. Even with her success, there was sexism. So, new coverage about Coachman as an athlete varied. The coverage of women compared to men was already stark in contrast, with men typically receiving full spreads with photos, while female athletes got short articles with no pictures. In 1942, she was mentioned in the Chicago Tribune in an article titled "Tuskegee Wins 6th Women's AAU Title in Track" and was reported on by the Boston Globe in an article titled "Tuskegee Girl Eclipses Stella in Title Meet". However, when the New York Times wrapped up reporting for the Olympics where she was the only American woman to win gold in track and field, the first African American to win a gold medal, and became a new Olympic record holder, they only wrote one sentence. When Coachman became a triple winner at the AAU Women's Nationals in 1945, beating Walsh, the Times only reported on Walsh's single win, ignoring Coachman's three victories. Despite this, she was praised in an interview with African-American reporter Sam Lacy by Walsh, who said Coachman was "the toughest opponent [she] had ever met" and the "finest runner [she] ever raced against." 

Her Passing

Coachman's athletic career ended when she was 24. She dedicated the rest of her life to education and to the Job Corps. Coachman died in Albany, Georgia on July 14, 2014, of cardiac arrest after suffering through respiratory problems. She had a stroke a few months prior for which she received treatment from a nursing home. She had two children during her first marriage to N. F. Davis, which ended in divorce. Her second husband, Frank Davis, preceded her in death.

The Legacy of Alice Coachman

It is important to respect and honor unsung legends and icons involving athletics. One human being was Alice Coachman. She was a black woman of the South who made lifelong contributions to humanity. Albany, Georgia, was her birthplace and the place where she passed away, too. She helped to break down barriers as the first black woman of any nation to win an Olympic gold medal in 1948 (in the city of London). She opposed racism and discrimination throughout her life. Back then, she had to pick cotton, supply corn to local mills, and pick plums plus pecans to sell them. She did this to provide for her family when she was a teenager. She has been blessed with great athleticism. She loved to run track and field races and the long jump. She gave human beings inspiration. She said to people that, "when the going gets tough and you feel like throwing your hands in the air, listen to that voice that tell you ‘Keep going. Hang in there.’...Guts and determination will pull you through.” She loved to teach people about track and field. In fact, she formed the Alice Coachman Track and Field Foundation to help support younger athletes and provide assistance to retired Olympic veterans. By the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, she was honored as one of the 100 greatest Olympians in history. She was later inducted into nine different halls of fame, including the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2004. Her peers during the 1940s were Joe Louis, Don Barksdale, Kenny Washington, Jackie Robinson, Tidye Pickett, Louise Stokes, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Ora Washington, Matilda and Margaret Peters, etc. Alice Coachman paved the way for many athletes now, including Simone Biles, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Masai Russell, and Tara Davis-Woodhall, and other icons.

Anna Julia Cooper

 

In our black community, we have tons of unsung, heroic, and intellectual giants. One such unsung hero was Anna Julia Cooper who lived from August 10, 1858, to February 27, 1964. She was a multifaceted woman who brought many gifts in the world atmosphere. She was not only in favor of black liberation which is a great thing to pursue. She was an author, educator, sociologist, speaker, black feminist leader, and African American scholar. She was born in the South in North Carolina. From being born enslaved to earning a Ph.D. back decades ago, she accomplished so much in the Earth. Her book of A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South was one of the first works by a black woman to articulate black feminist views. Cooper also promote Pan-African unity and opposed the evil of colonialism. Colonialism is evil, because it is a nefarious philosophy that teaches that one nation has the right to steal the resources and dominate the people of another nation using unjust means. She spoke and studied at many universities, she helped the poor, and her work focused on intersectionality.

Her Early Life

Anna Julia Haywood was born as a slave in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1858. She and her mother, Hannah Stanley Haywood, were enslaved by George Washington Haywood, one of the sons of North Carolina's longest-serving state Treasurer John Haywood, who helped found the University of North Carolina. Either George, who enslaved her mother, or his brother, Dr. Fabius Haywood, who enslaved her older brothers, Rufus and Andrew, was probably Anna's father; Anna's mother refused to clarify paternity. George became state attorney for Wake County, North Carolina, and together with a brother owned a plantation in Greene County, Alabama. Julia Anna Haywood Cooper worked as a domestic servant in the Haywood home and had the two aforementioned older brothers.  Andrew, enslaved by Fabius J. Haywood, later served in the Spanish–American War. Rufus was also born enslaved and became the leader of the musical group Stanley's Band. 

In 1868, when Cooper was nine years old, she received a scholarship and began her education at the newly opened Saint Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh, founded by the local Episcopal diocese to train teachers to educate the formerly enslaved and their families. The Reverend J. Brinton offered Cooper a scholarship to help pay for her expenses. According to Mark S. Giles, a Cooper biographer, "the educational levels offered at St. Augustine ranged from primary to high school, including trade-skill training." During her 14 years at St. Augustine's, she distinguished herself as a bright and ambitious student who showed equal promise in both liberal arts and analytical disciplines such as mathematics and science; her subjects included languages (Latin, French, Greek), English literature, math, and science. Although the school had a special track reserved for women – dubbed the "Ladies' Course" – and the administration actively discouraged women from pursuing higher-level courses, Cooper fought for her right to take a course reserved for men by demonstrating her academic ability. During this period, St. Augustine's pedagogical emphasis was on training young men for the ministry and preparing them for additional training at four-year universities. One of these men, George A. C. Cooper, would later become her husband. He died after only two years of marriage. Anna Julia Cooper's academic excellence allowed her to tutor to younger children. This tutoring helped her to pay for her educational expenses. After completing her studies, she remained at the institution as an instructor.  In the 1883–1884 school year, she taught classics, modern history, higher English, and vocal and instrumental music; she is not listed as faculty in the 1884–1885 year, but in the 1885–1886 year she is listed as "Instructor in Classic, Rhetoric, Etc." Her husband's early death may have contributed to her ability to continue teaching; if she had stayed married, she might have been encouraged or required to withdraw from the university to become a housewife.

After her husband's death, Cooper entered Oberlin College in Ohio, where she continued to follow the study designated for men, graduating in 1884. Given her academic qualifications, she was admitted as a sophomore. She often attempted to take four classes, rather than three as was prescribed by the college; she also was attracted to Oberlin by its reputation for music, but was unable to take as many classes in piano as she would have wished. Among her classmates were fellow black women Ida Gibbs (later Hunt) and Mary Church Terrell. At Oberlin, Cooper was part of the "LLS", "one of the two literary societies for women, whose regular programs featured lectures by distinguished speakers as well as singers and orchestras." After teaching briefly at Wilberforce University, she returned to St. Augustine's in 1885. She then returned to Oberlin and earned an M.A. in mathematics in 1888, making her one of the first two black women – along with Mary Church Terrell, who received her M.A. in the same year - to earn a master's degree. In 1890–91 she published an essay on "Higher Education of Women", which argued for the benefits of black women being trained in classical literature, referring to both Socrates and Sappho among her examples, and demonstrated an interest in access to education which would inform much of her later career. In writing this essay, she preceded W. E. B. Du Bois' similar arguments in "Of the Training of Black Men" (The Souls of Black Folk, 1903) by almost a decade. In 1900, she made her first trip to Europe to participate in the First Pan-African Conference in London, and then toured Europe: After visiting the cathedral towns of Scotland and England, she went to Paris for the World Exposition. "After a week at the Exposition, she went to Oberammergau to see the Passion Play, thence to Munich and other German towns, and then to Italy through Rome, Naples, Venice, Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and Florence."

Her Activism

Anna Julia Cooper moved to Washington, D.C. to promote more social activism. In 1892, Cooper, Helen Appo Cook, Ida B. Wells, Charlotte Forten Grimké, Mary Jane Peterson, Mary Church Terrell, and Evelyn Shaw formed the Colored Women's League in Washington, D.C. The goals of the service-oriented club were to promote unity, social progress, and the best interests of the African-American community. Cook was elected president. Cooper was a friend of Grimek. She later wrote a memoir about the Grimké Family, titled "The Early Years in Washington: Reminiscences of Life with the Grimkés," which appeared in Personal Recollections of the Grimké family and the Life and Writings of Charlotte Forten Grimké (privately published in 1951). She began as a tenured teacher, teaching Latin, math and science at M Street High School, becoming principal in 1901 or 1902. She later became entangled in a controversy involving the differing attitudes about black education, as she advocated for a model of classical education espoused by W. E. B. Du Bois, "designed to prepare eligible students for higher education and leadership", rather than the vocational program that was promoted by Booker T. Washington. This approach to the education of black students clashed with the backlash over Reconstruction gains in Black civil and political rights, and resulted in the D.C. School Board refusing to reappoint her in 1906. Later, she was recalled to M Street, and she fit her work on her doctoral thesis into "nooks and crannies of free time." The truth is that young people need both intellectual education and vocational education to be a jack of all trades. People need to know how to read, write, analyze information, and build things that are constructive to society. During her years as a teacher and principal at M Street High School, Cooper also completed her first book, titled A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South, published in 1892, and delivered many speeches calling for civil rights and women's rights. 

The book is widely viewed as one of the first articulations of black feminism and advanced a vision of self-determination through education and social uplift for African-American women. Its central thesis was that black women's educational, moral, and spiritual progress would improve the general standing of the African-American community. She says that men's violent natures often counter the goals of higher education, so it is essential to foster more women intellectuals because they will bring more elegance to education. This view was criticized by some as submissive to the 19th-century cult of true womanhood, but others label it as one of the most important arguments for Black feminism in the 19th century. The truth is that black women leaders and black women leaders are valuable in building up the black community in general. Cooper advanced the view that educated and successful black women must support their underprivileged peers in achieving their goals. The essays in A Voice from the South also touched other topics such as the socioeconomic realities of Black families and the administration of the Episcopal Church. A Voice from the South received significant praise from leaders in the black community. It was widely praised within the Black community and among intellectuals for its pioneering ideas on race, gender, and education.

 

Her Later Years

During Anna J. Cooper's later years, she continued to be an author, educator, and public speaker. In 1893, she gave the opening address at the World's Congress of Representative Women in Chicago. She was one of five African American women invited to speak at this event, along with Fannie Barrier Williams, Sarah Jane Woodson Early, Hallie Quinn Brown, and Fanny Jackson Coppin. In the 1902 speech, she said the following words: "...A nation's greatness is not dependent upon the things it make and uses. Things without thoughts [ sic] are mere vulgarities. America can boast her expanse of territory, her gilded domes, her paving stones of silver dollars; but the question of deepest moment in this nation today is its men and its women, the elevation at which it receives its "vision" into the firmament of eternal truth." (The Ethics of the Negro Question", September 5, 1902). In 1914, at 56, Cooper began courses for her doctoral degree at Columbia University. However, she was forced to interrupt her studies in 1915 when she adopted her late half-brother's five children upon their mother's death. Later, she transferred her credits to the University of Paris, which did not accept her Columbia thesis, an edition of Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne. Over a decade, she researched and composed her dissertation, completing her coursework in 1924. Cooper defended her thesis "The Attitude of France on the Question of Slavery Between 1789 and 1848" in 1925. Cooper's retirement from Washington Colored High School in 1930 was not the end of her political activism. 

The same year she retired, she accepted the position of president at Frelinghuysen University, a school founded to provide classes for D.C. residents lacking access to higher education. Cooper worked for Frelinghuysen for twenty years, first as president and then as registrar, and left the school only a decade before she died in 1964 at the age of 105. At the age of 65, she became the fourth Black woman in American history to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her work was eventually published in an anthology of medieval French literature and was requested for classes and the bookstore at Harvard. In 1929, Cooper was elected to succeed Jesse Lawson as president of Frelinghuysen University, a post she assumed in 1930. Under Cooper's leadership in the 1930s, Frelinghuysen University focused on increasing literacy among the African American working poor and providing liberal arts and vocational education for unskilled workers.  Karen A. Johnson writes in "In Service for the Common Good" Anna Julia Cooper and Adult Education that Cooper practiced a "decolonizing pedagogy", further saying: "Cooper believed that the essential purpose for a "decolonizing" approach to adult education content was to assist her students in developing their abilities to question dominant thought ... Cooper's ultimate goal for her learning adults was their preparation for intellectual enlightenment as well as to equip them to battle for a better society at large." After the university found servicing its mortgage prohibitive, she moved the institution to her own house. Cooper retired from her position as president in 1940, but she continued her involvement with the university, taking a position as its registrar. 

Her Passing

Anna Julia Cooper's educational philosophy was deeply rooted in the belief that education is a transformative tool for social change and racial uplift, particularly for African Americans. As an educator and later the president of Frelinghuysen University, Cooper championed a holistic approach to learning that went beyond mere vocational training. She emphasized that education should cultivate critical thinking, self-improvement, and active civic engagement, preparing students to be not only skilled but socially responsible individuals. Scholars argue that Anna Julia Cooper's work has been overshadowed by more celebrated figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, even though her contributions often preceded or paralleled his ideas. For example, Cooper addressed concepts akin to “double consciousness” and critiqued portrayals of Black Americans in literature well before Du Bois, who frequently referenced her ideas without providing proper attribution. On February 27, 1964, Cooper died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 105 from a heart attack. Her memorial was held in a chapel on the campus of Saint Augustine's College, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her academic career began. She was buried alongside her husband at the City Cemetery in Raleigh.

 

The Legacy of Anna Julia Cooper

Bravery represents her legacy and cultural ethos. No one can question her commitment to human justice. Anna Julia Cooper was from the South and wrote literature that both racial equality and gender equality. Her life has been filled with adventure and overcoming challenges. That is self-evident by the characteristics of her life story. She was born a slave, but she never remained a slave. She didn't just earn a Bachelor's degree of Arts in 1884. She earned a master's degree in mathematics in 1879, and her doctorate degree came about at the University of Paris. She was the 4th African American woman to earn a Ph.D. She loved her children, Lula Love Lawson and John Love. Cooper had an expansive view of the world. For example, she promoted black feminism (that means equality and justice for black women is paramount to improve her education in general), she supported Pan-Africanism, she fought anti-black lynching (along with other pro-black freedom activists like Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, and lucy Ellen Moten). Cooper later lived in Washington, D.C, where she lived to be 105 years old. In that span of time, she had written glorious literature, fought for legitimate social change, and followed the august precept that a potent education is a key method in improving the intellectual, cultural, and other aspects of societal growth.

By Timothy

Spring 2026 Part 3.

 

 

 

  

 

Health

 

Thousands of years have passed in human history, and we realize the essential importance of health. We live in a new generation in 2026, so we shouldn't believe in myths revolving around fitness. One myth is that cardio alone will reduce weight. The truth is that cardio is very important (as it can improve physical endurance and cardiovascular health), but cardio is part of the puzzle of developing fitness. People need cardio, strength building exercises, walking at least, and eating healthy nutritious foods are needed to reduce weight. Another myth is that body shaming people in a rude, condescending fashion will inspire people to improve their health in general. People are human beings with emotions and demonizing people never truly causes changes in people. It's a form of plain emotional abuse. Emotionally abusing people is wicked. The reality is that inspiration, real talk, kindness, and promoting determination will cause more positive health results. No one should dehumanize people based upon size as we believe in the Golden Rule (to treat people with dignity and respect irrespective of color, size, gender, ethnicity, race, nationality, or background). So, I live by the Golden Rule in my daily life. Over the course of 20 year alone, society has learned more facts about VO2 levels, peptides, amino acids, anaerobic exercises, aerobic exercises, HIIT, and other components of modern-day health topics. Experts abound in our time who are health experts, and our goal is still the same. We believe in the immutable principle that human improvement mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually will result in manifold blessings in real life. We believe in desiring the best for humanity, and people have the God-given right to be ourselves with humbleness, courage, creativity, a positive personality, diverse interests, and a powerful strength filled modesty (or humbleness and cogent integrity not respectability politics), and unpretentiousness. 

Calories

Many exercise and fitness experts talk about calories all of the time. What is the relationship between calories and food? There is big linkage between the two concepts. Calories are the energy units in food and drinks that are necessary or essential for all bodily functions. In other words, calories are needed to help the body for physical activity and basic activities like fuel growth and repair. Calories can come from macronutrients, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. They each provide a different energy density. For example, carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram, proteins have 4 calories per gram, alcohol has 7 calories per gram, etc. Fats are the most energy dense providing 9 calories per gram. People learn about caloric content to deal with weight management, overall health metrics, metabolism, and energy expenditure. Calories is a measure of how much energy in needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. It is a unit that measures the body's use of energy which can be measured in kilocalories (kcal) or kilojoules (kJ). The number of calories a food or drink has is found on the nutrition label of food packaging and listed by serving size. Nucleotides, organic acids, and sugar alcohol have very small amounts of calories. Calories are vital to human life and health, because calories (or energy) consumed from food and beverages can help people breath, allow the heart to beat, walk, exercise, etc. in burning calories.

The number of calories people use during the day relate to metabolism. Metabolism is all combined reactions that occur throughout the body within each cell that provides the body with energy. Metabolism is measured in calories by TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). TDEE is the total number of calories your body burns in a day, including all activities from basic functions to intentional exercise, and is composed of Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Thermic Effect of Food (TEF), Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT), and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). How much calories a person needs per day depends on genetics, lifestyle factors, sex, height, lean body mass, activity level, and health goals. U.S. dietary guidelines says that the average adult man requires 2,500 calories per day and the average woman adult requires 2,000 calories per day. These numbers vary by individuals. For weight loss, you’ll need to eat fewer calories to create a calorie deficit. For weight gain, you’ll need to eat more calories to create a calorie surplus. A balanced weight maintenance is when calorie intake is equal to calorie expenditure. Energy balance is the relationship between calories “in” via food and beverages and calories “out” via the body’s daily energy requirements. Calories from whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy products, poultry, red meat, seafood, and shellfish, generally contain more micronutrients per gram than processed foods, particularly ultra-processed foods such as candy, sugar-sweetened beverages, and mass-produced packaged foods. Foods with the lowest calories are high in water and/or fiber. Foods with the most calories tend to be high in fat.

 

Hair Health

Human hair has been talked about for generations. Each human being has different types of hair. Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis of the skin. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles that produce thick terminal and fine vellus hair. Most common interest in hair is focused on hair growth, hair types, and hair care, but hair is also an important biomaterial primarily composed of protein, notably alpha-keratin. Attitudes towards different forms of hair, such as hairstyles and hair removal, vary widely across different cultures and historical periods, but it is often used to indicate a person's personal beliefs or social position, such as their age, gender, or religion. The human hair starts on the inside of the skin. The part behind the skin is called the hair follicle, or, when pulled from the skin, the bulb or root. This organ is located in the dermis and maintains stem cells, which not only re-grow the hair after it falls out, but also are recruited to regrow skin after a wound. The hair shaft, which is the hard filamentous part that extends above the skin surface. It is made of multi-layered keratinized (dead) flat cells whose rope-like filaments provide structure and strength to it. The protein called keratin makes up most of its volume. A cross section of the hair shaft may be divided roughly into three zones. There is the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla. Each strand of hair is made up of the medulla, cortex, and cuticle. 

The cortex contains melanin, which colors the fiber based on the number, distribution and types of melanin granules. The melanin may be evenly spaced or cluster around the edges of the hair. The shape of the follicle determines the shape of the cortex, and the shape of the fiber is related to how straight or curly the hair is. People with straight hair have round hair fibers. Oval and other shaped fibers are generally more wavy or curly. The cuticle is the outer covering. Its complex structure slides as the hair swells and is covered with a single molecular layer of lipid that makes the hair repel water. The diameter of human hair varies from 0.017 to 0.18 millimeters (0.00067 to 0.00709 in). Some of these characteristics in humans' head hair vary by ethnicity: people of mostly African ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 60–90 μm and a flat cross-section, while people of mostly European or Middle Eastern ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 70–100 μm and an oval cross-section, and people of mostly Asian or Native American ancestry tend to have hair with a diameter of 90–120 μm and a round cross-section. There are roughly two million small, tubular glands and sweat glands that produce watery fluids that cool the body by evaporation. The glands at the opening of the hair produce a fatty secretion that lubricates the hair.

 

There is a massive importance of hair health that we should know about. Using proper hygiene for human hair is very important. Hair can be colored, trimmed, shaved, plucked, or removed by waxing, sugaring, and threading. We know that salons, barbershops, and day spas work with hair constantly. Properly cleaning the scalp skin can help the hair. Some people have dandruff and head ice.  Sebum is a natural substance that gives hair its natural shine. Too much sebum can block hair follicles, which can prevent hair from growing. Proper hair washing removes excess sweat and oil, and as unwanted products from the hair and scalp. Helping to have great hair health deals with a balanced diet rich in protein, iron, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins A, C, D, and E. These nutrients are key for maintaining strong, healthy hair and promoting growth. Such foods that deal with great hair health are eggs, spinach, salmon, avocados, nut, sweet potatoes, and other foods which support scalp health, boost collagen, and prevent nutrient related hair loss. Proteins build keratin, which is part of hair structure and prevents breakage and weakness. Iron ensures that oxygen reaches hair follicles. 

 

44 and 60 Years Old (Aging)

One of the most important ages in humanity is 44 and 60, especially at it relates to health. We should all eat healthy at any age, but those 2 ages are key in the aging process of humanity. That is why when people advance the evil of ageism, we should be reminded that we will all (with exceptions of course) will become older at a certain stage in life. At the age of 44 years old, there are massive molecular changes in caffeine/lipid metabolism, muscle, and skin imagery. By 44, your metabolism slows down even further, weight gain comes easier, and muscle loss is more noticeable. By 44, people have a reduced ability to process alcohol and caffeine, potentially causing intolerance. At that age, your collagen in the skin will be less elastic increasing wrinkles and reduced muscle tone. Women may have perimenopause symptoms (mood change, weight gain) because of estrogen dropping. At 44, there are changes in the lip or fat metabolism that can affect heart health. Heart disease is a silent killer.

At the age of 60, more changes come. There is noticeable decline in the human immune system making people more susceptible to illness. The human kidney function and carbohydrate metabolism is less efficient that increases the risk of diabetes and kidney diseases. There is slower neurological processes and cognitive changes. At 60, bone and join health are effect causing a higher risk for osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. There are hormonal changes in 60 like significant drops in estrogen in women and drops in testosterone for men continuing. Now, we can do something about this too. We should eat more whole foods, drink water, and manage carbohydrate intake. People can exercise including strength training which is needed for muscle and bone health. Strength training builds your body's armor or muscles and bones to allow you to look younger, move quicker, and think sharper. Also, folks at any age should have screenings and medical exams (like physicals, dental, eye exams, and age-appropriate immunizations). People can have adequate sleep (being from 7-9 hours. Sleep helps to recharge and heal the human body), manage stress, limit or drink no alcohol, smoke no cigarettes, and monitor heart health (i.e. blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.). So, aging rapidly at 44 and 60 should not cause irrational fear but a sense of preparation to deal with natural aging and live a fruitful life at any age.

 

Gallbladder

The gallbladder is one of the most underrated parts of the human body. It is also called the cholecyst. The gallbladder is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. Bile is a yellow green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids in the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. For us humans, bile is mostly made up of water and is produced continuously by the liver. After people eat food, this stored bile is discharged into the first section of the small intestine (called the duodenum) through the amulla of water in the duodenal wall. The gallbladder in human beings is pear shaped and it is found beneath the liver. The structure and position of the gallbladder can very among animal species. The gallbladder gets the bile from the liver via the common hepatic duct, and it stores it. The bile helps in the digestion of fats. The gallbladder has its body, fundus, and neck. It has the foregut, the cystic artery, the cystic vein, and the nerves (of celiac ganglia and vagus nerve). The gallbladder can be affected by gallstones (which is formed by materials that can't be dissolved, usually cholesterol or bilirubin, a product of hemoglobin breakdown. This can cause massive pain in the upper right corner of the abdomen. Some people with this problem will have their gallbladder removed in the procedure of cholecystectomy). The inflammation of the gallbladder called cholecystitis had a wide range of causes like gallstone impaction, infection, and autoimmune disease. The human gallbladder is a hollow gray blue organ. In adults, the gallbladder can be 2.8 to 3.9 inches in length and 1.6 inches in diameter when fully distended. The gallbladder has a volume capacity of about 50 milliliters or 1.8 imperial fluid ounces. 

The gallbladder is shaped like a pear, with its tip opening into the cystic duct. The gallbladder is divided into three sections: the fundus, body, and neck. The fundus is the rounded base, angled so that it faces the abdominal wall. The body lies in a depression in the surface of the lower liver. The neck tapers and is continuous with the cystic duct, part of the biliary tree. The gallbladder fossa, against which the fundus and body of the gallbladder lie, is found beneath the junction of hepatic segments IVB and V. The cystic duct unites with the common hepatic duct to become the common bile duct. At the junction of the neck of the gallbladder and the cystic duct, there is an out-pouching of the gallbladder wall forming a mucosal fold known as "Hartmann's pouch." Lymphatic drainage of the gallbladder follows the cystic node, which is located between the cystic duct and the common hepatic duct. Lymphatics from the lower part of the organ drain into lower hepatic lymph nodes. All the lymph finally drains into celiac lymph nodes. The gallbladder wall is composed of a number of layers. The innermost surface of the gallbladder wall is lined by a single layer of columnar cells with a brush border of microvilli, very similar to intestinal absorptive cells. Underneath the epithelium is an underlying lamina propria, a muscular layer, an outer perimuscular layer and serosa. Unlike elsewhere in the intestinal tract, the gallbladder does not have a muscularis mucosae, and the muscular fibers are not arranged in distinct layers.

The inner portion of the gallbladder wall (the mucosa) consists of a lining of a single layer of columnar cells which possess small hair-like attachments called microvilli. This sits on a thin layer of connective tissue, the lamina propria. The mucosa is curved and collected into tiny outpouchings called rugae. There are indentations of the inner wall mucosa known as Luschka's crypts. A muscular layer sits beneath the mucosa. This is formed by smooth muscle, with fibers that lie in longitudinal, oblique and transverse directions, and are not arranged in separate layers. The muscle fibers here contract to expel bile from the gallbladder. A distinctive feature of the gallbladder is the presence of Rokitansky–Aschoff sinuses, deep outpouchings of the mucosa that can extend through the muscular layer, and which indicate adenomyomatosis. The muscular layer is surrounded by a layer of connective and fat tissue. The outer layer of the fundus of gallbladder, and the surfaces not in contact with the liver, are covered by a thick serosa, which is exposed to the peritoneum. The serosa contains blood vessels and lymphatics. The surfaces in contact with the liver are covered in connective tissue

Health and Fitness Heroes

Massy Arias

Massy Arias is a professional fitness coach who was born in 1990 at the Dominican Republic. She is also a health coach with 2.5 million followers on Instagram. Also, she has fans from across the globe that are inspired by her to exercise. She has shared her resiliency and her story in struggling with depression. Later, she started her fitness journey back in 2012. She lives in Los Angeles, California now. She wanted to use her emotional intelligence and being opened minded to improve her life. She did the things that she is doing because she wants to do it voluntarily and to help other human lives. She has taught her daughter Indira Sarai Williams (who is of black and Latina descent) that values of treating people as human beings. She is the CEO of Tru Supplements. 

Camai Brandenberg

Camai Brandenberg is a professional fitness expert. She has her own reformer studio location found in the West Hollywood, Beverly Grove neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. The studio gives private and semi private pilates training, lead by Camai Brandenberg. Her company is called Embody Pilates. She helps her clients exist in great shape. She has a 4 Week Pilates Program, a 30 for 30 program, and several Live and On-Demand classes. She promotes diversity among people of all backgrounds maong her clients. She has more than 2,000+ hours of experience in training and teaching both in studios and private instruction. 

Latoyal Shauntay Snell

Latoya Shauntay Snell is a motivational speaker, chef, writer, and ultramarathon runner. She promotes body positivity and inclusivity in fitness. She was unjustly heckled back in 2017 at the New York Marathon. No one should be heckled. She wants her story to inspire other human beings to achieve thier goals. She promotes running to deal with changing her life. Snell was introduced to the group Black Girls RUN! This is a run club that encourages and motivates black women to promote a healthy lifestyle while supporting them in every step of their journey. Latoya told the truth that, "I refuse to stop being an adrenaline junkie for fitness and I'm at a place where I've embraced being an activist for the body positivity movement, advocate for health at all sizes, and inclusion of people from all walks of life." Each person is different, and unique fitness actions matter and can be used by a diversity of humanity. She is a powerlifter too. She loves her husband and family too. 

 

Erin Smigielski

Erin Smigielski is a fitness leader and health expert. In 2025, she ran the JFK 50 Mile, an ultramaraton in Washington, County, Maryland. She joined the United States Army and served as Secure Voice Operator at Joint Staff based in Northern Punjab, Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Her solesndsouls Instagram account has more than 175,000 followers. She loves to do powerlifting, swimming, and being involed in other forms of athletic training. She is 6 feet one inches tall. Her heroes are her father and her mother who have inspired her every step of the way in her running and fitness journey. 

Gerlind Ariagho

Gerlind Anagho is the founder of Fitness With Femininity. She wants to empower and teach women the ways to remain in shape. Her goal in her movement to bridge the gender disparity in the health and wellness industry. She wants women to take control of their physical and mental well-being. She believes in equality, inclusivity, and empowerment in daily life. She wants to give women the resources to live better lives. There is nothing wrong with women involving themselves in fitness among their own spaces. Gerlind Anagho is an American Council of Exercise certified fitness trainer and health enthusiast. She has programs that deal with fat loss, geriatric training, pre and postpartum, and has online Afrobeats Zumba classes. Her programs help to develop the confidence and inner strength for women. 

Jenna De Leon

Jenna de Leon is a great, inspirational fitness trainer. She has Afro-Trinidadian heritage. Jenna de Leon represents the new generation of active exercise experts. She is also the founder and head trainer at the program called Reset. She was born on June 10, 1991. She won the title of bikini overall winner in the TTBBF National Junior Championship in 2016. She is an IFBB PRO Bikini Competitor and a 3 Time World Champ. Her Reset program has helped women of color to achieve their own fitness goals. She was the first Trinidadian to win an Arnold Classic. She survived a health scare and her journey made her more confident in herself on her own terms.

Frantazcesca Casimir

Master Sergeant Frantzcesca Casimir has shared her thoughts on health, wellness, and mindset for many years. She wants people to know that health is more than just exercise. It is also about improve your mind and your emotions too. She just recently came into the 40+ club being born in December 24, 1985. She is of Afro-Haitian descent and desire women feel confident about working out and living life in general. She is right to say that, "Normanlize waking up in a positive mood. Relax. Pray. Set a good tone for the day." SHe is a fitness instructor who founded the Fancy Fit brand of workouts as an active duty U.S. Army sergeant. She was inspired by watching the CrossFit Games and earned her NASM personal training certificate after enlisting in the U.S. Army. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. 

Taelor Breaux

Coach Taelor Breaux is dedicated to healthcare, and she is a powerful health and wellness coach. She is also a private personal trainer who desire people to achieve their own goals. Throughout her life, she had been an athlete, and Breaux used her skills to became Coach Taelor Breaux. She loves to play a diversity of sports. Her mentorship group has helped people with personal, social, and psychological problems in their lives. Taelor Breaux has a master's degree in physical therapy. She gives people via TXB training with physical therapy, life coaching, personal training, and nutrition programs (for men, women, vegans, etc.). Breaux has written her own E-book for Diabetics and high blood pressure.

Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D.

Dr. Valerie Montgomery is an American obstetrician, gynecologist, and college administrator. She is the President and Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine. She loves her husband, Melvin Rice, and their 2 children. She is a native of Georgia. She completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology. In 1987, she earned a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. In addition, at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, she completed the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Emory University. She also conducted a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Hutzel Women's Hospital. Her research on infertility and maternal mortality rates earned her membership of the Honor Roll of Outstanding Black Physicians. This award is granted to black physicians and scientists who are deemed visionaries. The professionals who receive this honor are those who have overcome great adversity in the name of scientific advancement and social justice in their aid to individuals of color and needy and vulnerable individuals. Because of her dedication and passion to women's reproductive health with an emphasis on minority reproductive research, Dr. Montgomery Rice has been awarded multifaceted awards throughout her career including awards from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and Office of Research on Women's Health/National Institutes of Health (NIH) advisory councils (2013-); Society for Women's Health Research board (2012-) and the executive committee (2013); March of Dimes board (2012-), etc. 

Griffin Rodgers, M.D.

Griffin P. Rodgers is the director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, one of the 27 institutes that make up the United States National Institutes of Health. He is also the Chief of the institute's Molecular and Clinical Hematology Branch and is known for contributions to research and therapy for sickle cell anemia. Rodgers graduated from Brown University with his undergraduate (1976), graduate (1979), and medical degrees (1979), and holds an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School (2005). He is a hematologist who has been board-certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and hematology. Rodgers first joined the NIH in 1984. He became the Chief of the Molecular and Clinical Hematology Branch in 1998 and the NIDDK Deputy Director in 2001. In 2006, he assumed the directorship on an acting basis, and this position was made permanent in 2007 by the NIH's director at the time, Elias Zerhouni. Rodgers was awarded a Mastership from the American College of Physicians in 2005. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 2011. Rodgers is a physician-scientist who studies diseases of bone marrow and is best known for his work on the molecular genetics of hemoglobinopathies and on developing a treatment for sickle cell anemia. He was a major contributor to the development of hydroxyurea therapy, which was approved by the FDA in 1998.

Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan

Dr. Louis Wade Sullivan is a physician, author, and educator. He was once the Secretary of the Untied States Department of Health and Human Service during the President George H. W. Bush's administration. He is the Founding Dean of Morehouse School of Medicine. He was born in Atlanta, and his family moved into rural Blakely, Georgia. Sullivan wanted to be involved in healthcare since he was a child. He graduated in 1950 as Class Salutatorian from Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School. He graduated from Morehouse magna cum laude in 1954. He earned his medical degree, cum laude from Boston University in 1958. He studied at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Thorndike Memorial Laboratory of Harvard Medical School, Boston City Hospital. He married E. Ginger Williamson, an attorney since September 23, 1995. The couple has three children. He organized the Sullivan Alliance in January 2005 to help minorities in the healthcare workplace. He is the chairman of the Atlanta-based National Health Museum to educate and inspire Americans to live healthier lives. He promotes daily exercise along with his wife in the Annual Sullivan 5K Run/Walk on Martha's Vineyard in Oak Bluff's Massachusetts. 

Camara Jones, MD, Ph.D

Camara Phyllis Jones is a physician, epidemiologist, and anti-racism activist. She studies the effects of racism and social inequalities on health. She helped to use her work to define institutional racism in the context of modern U.S. race relations. She earned her B.A. from Wellesley College, Stanford University School of Medicine (M.D.), and John Hopkins University (M.P.H., Ph.D.). She earned an honorary degree from Smith College. 

Kelvin Brown, MD., MPH

Dr. Kelvin Brown is a licensed medical physician, surgeon, marathoner, author, public health expert, and father. He is the Founder and CEO of the software setup Syncosystem, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder of Vital Outreach Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to provide much-needed health-related products and services to those in need. He created Precision Health and Weight Loss Centers, which worked hard successfully for 18 years. He has a B.S. from Christian Brothers University, M.PH. from Emory University, M.D. from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (USAOM), and General Surgery, Emory University Hospitals. He has studied biology, chemistry, bariatrics, psychology, health policy, epidemiology, and general surgery. 

Ebony Butler, PhD.

Dr. Ebony Butler wants people to be the healthiest version of themselves. She earned her doctorate from the University of Houston in Counseling Psychology. She is a licensed psychologist and food relationship strategist. She has honored her mentors, her friends, and the funding for her education program. She has been a speaker, consultant, and trauma expert for many years. She is a professional therapist too. She supports Black History Month, Black Love, and Black Joy for all black people as all black people, regardless of background, deserve freedom, liberation, joy, equality, justice, and happiness. She also helps black women to heal and have quality mental health care. 

Body Types

I never really talked about body types and health on this forum before. Now, it is the perfect time to do it. All human beings have diverse human body types, and that is perfectly fine. Each body type deals with certain needs for health improvement. For example, your body is like a blueprint, and each person is different. That means that certain health and exercise methods that may work for some people may not produce results for another person. That is why fitness experts readily find out a person's body type to develop the best food diet and exercise procedure in making sure that people are at their best physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually (as a strong body will develop a strong mind completely). People of all shapes and sizes can be healthy or have risk factors for heart disease, various cancers, etc. That is why all people (regardless of age) should have regular checkups to test our blood pressure, cholesterol, body fat percentage, risk for diseases and cancers, and other measures of human health. There are more than a dozen human body types. Here are some of them major ones. At the first level, there are three major ones called ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. An ectomorph body type has a narrower frame, thinner bones, and smaller joints, and may be flatter in the chest and gluteus maximus. Think of the typical build of a distance runner, fashion model, or ballerina. Though you may look skinny and find it hard to put on weight, you can have more body fat than you think, especially as you age. That’s because your body often processes food quickly, which makes it harder to build muscle. The endomorph or this specific somatotype  usually has more body fat and muscle, smaller shoulders, shorter limbs, and larger bone structure. Think of football linemen, shot put throwers, or curvier women.  You may gain weight easily, especially in your lower belly and hips, and find it harder to lose. This may be in part because your body is more likely to store “high carb” foods as fat instead of burning them. 

There is the mesomorph body somatotype that has an  athletic, strong build with wide shoulders, a narrow waist, and low body fat. Think of the typical build of sprinters or soccer players. Because you’re naturally strong and lose and gain weight easily, your body type is well-suited to muscle-building activities like bodybuilding.  There is the pear shape that combines a slimmer “ectomorph” upper body with an “endomorph” lower body. People with this shape have extra fat in the hip and thigh area. It’s more common among women, and it may be part of the reason they often live longer than men. That could be because belly fat, more common in men, is linked to more health problems than lower-body fat. One study found that in some cases fat in the hips and thighs was linked to lower odds for some diseases. There is the apple shape too. This means that a person has more fat stored around your stomach, while your lower body stays thin. It’s more common in men, and it's worse for your health than the pear shape. That’s because belly fat is often a sign that you have more fat deeper inside, around your internal organs, as opposed to just beneath the skin. That kind is more closely linked to heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol. 

Doctors don't relay on body shape alone to determine human history. People use multiple data points like body fat percentage, body pressure, waist size, family genetic history, waist to hip ratio, VO2 levels, etc. Scientists studied about 3,000 adults for more than 12 years and found those whose thighs measured less than 24 1/2 inches were more likely to have heart disease and other health problems. And the problem got worse as thighs got thinner. However, the study didn’t track whether the people’s thighs were larger because of fat, muscle, or both, so it’s hard to tell why they were better off. There are other complex body shapes like diamond, round, inverted triangle, hourglass, rectangle, etc. One secret to improve health is cardio, eat healthy, reduce stress, grow intellectually, and strength building exercises, especially as we age. In one study, when doctors kept track of 4,000 men between ages 60 and 79 to figure out their body composition, they found that along with slimmer waists, bigger arms seemed to predict longer life and better health. Those who had larger mid-arm muscle measurements lived longer. It may simply be that muscular arms reflect a healthier lifestyle, but the muscle itself may also help. Therefore, your body shape is not your health destiny. People can exercise, eat great foods (like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, skinless chicken, fish, eggs, beans, and low fat dairy) and build muscle along with cardio to improve human life. 

 

Hormones

Hormones are one of the most important parts of the human body and health in general. They have been used, researched, and known for a long time. What are hormones? In essence, hormones are chemical messengers that coordinate different functions in the human body by carrying messages through the blood to organs, skin, muscles, and other tissues. Many glands, organs, and tissues make and release hormones, many of which made up the endocrine system. Hormones are powerful chemicals. They can give signals to tell your body about what to do. Hormones are very vital for life and human health. Scientists have found over 50 hormones in the human body so far. Hormones and most of the tissues (many glands) that create and release them control different bodily processes like metabolism, homeostasis (or constant internal balance like blood pressure, blood sugar regulation, fluid or water and electrolyte balance plus body temperature), growth and development, sexual function, reproduction, sleep-wake cycle, and mood. Hormones can change the human body massively even if minor changes in the level exist. That is why people with certain conditions need medical treatment. A hormone will only act on a part of the body if it fits or if the cells in the target tissue have receptors that receive the message of the hormone. A hormone is like a key and the cells of its target tissue like an organ and fat tissue are specially shaped locked. If the hormone fits the lock or receptor on the cell wall, then it will work. That means that the hormone will deliver a message that causes the target site to take a specific action. The human body uses hormones for two types of communication. The first type is communication between two endocrine glands: One gland releases a hormone, which stimulates another gland to change the levels of hormones that it’s releasing. An example of this is the communication between your pituitary gland and thyroid. Your pituitary gland releases thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which triggers your thyroid gland to release its hormones, which then affect various aspects of your body. The second type of communication is between an endocrine gland and a target organ. An example of this is when your pancreas releases insulin, which then acts on your muscles and liver to help process glucose. Specialized glands make up the endocrine system and release most of the hormones in the body. 

A gland is an organ that makes one or more substances like hormones, digestive juices, sweat, or tears. Endocrine glands release hormones directly into the bloodstream. The endocrine system has the many of the glands of hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid, parathyroid glands, adrenal glands, pancreas, ovaries, and testes. Other body tissues that release hormones are adipose tissue (fat tissue), kidneys, liver, gut (the gastrointestinal tract), and placenta. The ovaries in women can produce estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Men with testes can produce sperm and the hormone testosterone. Many tissues and organs can produce a diversity of hormones like the pineal gland producing the hormone melatonin, which helps control the sleep/wake cycle. The placenta can produce hormones of estrogen and progesterone to maintain the pregnancy. The placenta is a temporary organ that develops in a woman's uterus during her pregnancy. It provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing fetus. Testosterone is an endogen that is primarily produced in the testes in men and ovaries in women. It can increase libido (among men and women), develop muscle growth, grow protein synthesis, bone density, facial hair growth, deepening of the voice, increased body hair, and increase red blood cell production.  Low levels of it can be attributed to fatigue, depression, weight gain, and reduced sexual function. Estrogen is produced mostly in the ovaries with smaller amounts in the testes and adrenal glands. Estrogen is vital for regulating the menstrual cycle, helps to develop fetal development, maintaining healthy cholesterol levels, and bone health in both sexes. Estrogen drives breast development by stimulating the growth of milk ducts and fat accumulation in breast tissue. This process starts in puberty and continues through menstruation, pregnancy, and lactation, with different hormones (like progesterone) maturing glands for potential milk production. Low levels of estrogen can cause brittle bones, vaginal dryness in women, and moodiness. As men and women age, testosterone and estrogen decline causing menopausal symptoms in women and andropause related symptoms in men. 

Many people have hormone issues by medical conditions. For most hormones, if someone has too much or too little, it can cause symptoms and issues with your health. Such imbalances require treatment often. Some hormone related conditions are diabetes, thyroid disease, PCOS, infertility (among both men and women), obesity, etc. Hormonal imbalances can be caused by tumors, adenomas, abnormal growth, damage or injury to an endocrine gland, autoimmune conditions, and heredity gene mutations (that cause a problem with the structure and function of an endocrine gland). Doctors can diagnose and treat hormone conditions. That is why healthcare providers are crucial for people who have hormonal imbalances. 

More Health Studies

Here are many studies involving health:

1. According to the Journal of Sport and Health Science article on February 17, 2026, this simple exercise habit may keep your brain younger. The study showed that adults who exercised regularly for a year had brains that appeared nearly a year younger on MRI scans. This research is found from the AdventHealth Research Institute. Regular exercise has been proven to improve brain power. Researchers found that a consistent aerobic workout routine may help the brain to remain biologically young. This relates to better thinking, stronger memory, and better overall well-being. This is done, according to the study of adults (this study enrolled 130 healthy adults aged 26 to 58. Those assigned to exercise did 60-minute sessions and other home workouts to reach about 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week, as matching the recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine). Those who completed a structured year-long aerobic exercise program (as compared to people who didn't increase their physical activity). Brain PAD is called Brain Predicted Age Difference. Dr. Lu Wan, the lead author and data scientist at the AdventHealth Research Institute said that a simple, guideline-based exercise program can make the brain look measurably younger than over just 12 months. It is important to study VO2 levels too or oxygen uptake. Scientists want people to intervene with such workouts in middle age at the 30s, 40s, and 50s to reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline in general.

2. There is a study that exercise variety, not just the amount, is linked to a lower risk of premature mortality. This new study was done by researchers at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. It cited that consistently engaging in a variety of exercises like walking, weightlifting, and gardening can lower the risk of premature mortality, even when total physical activity level was held constant. The study was published on January 20, 2026, Tuesday in the BMJ Medicine. The researched used health and lifestyle ate from more than 110,000 adult men and women over the course of more than 30 years. It was collected by the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow Up Study. The study found that participants who engaged in the highest variety of exercises had a 19 percent lower risk of premature death compared to those who engaged in the lowest variety. These activities can be jogging, running, bicycling, calisthenics, tennis, lifting weights, racquetball, etc. According to Yang Hu, research scientist in the Department of Nutrition, engaging in multiple types of physical activities (not just one) will cause many benefits. 

3. There is a study that says that not eating foods three hours before bedtime could benefit heart health. The study found that extended fasting could improve blood pressure and heart rate patterns during sleep according to a study. This study was conducted by Northwestern University. The study found that an overnight fast for two hours and not eating for three hours prior to sleep were shown to improve cardiovascular and metabolic health. These results were found among middle aged and older adults, who are a higher risk for cardiometabolic disease, as stated in a university press release. The study lasted for almost 8 weeks. It was published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.

Conclusion

We live in a new, multifaceted generation (filled with Chat GPT, digital devices, computerized fitness machines placed in walls like The Mirror, and drones sending supplies to the homes of people) where health culture has grown in leaps and bounds. From health experts to various exercise techniques, we witness another renaissance of extra fitness developments. Studies readily show what works to improve the quality of life of human beings (which includes strength training, cardio, eating healthy foods, reducing stress, almsgiving, getting at least 7-9 hours of sleep a day, etc.). During this era of time, it is crucial to be tested by medical experts for various illnesses. Many cancers and diseases are not just caused by dangerous environmental factors or by eating certain foods (and social habits like smoking and drinking alcohol excessively). Such diseases and illnesses can transpire by genetics too. So, it is paramount for us to realize our genetic family health history, because that vital information can help us prevent or stop the risk of illnesses from spreading in our bodies by over 50 percent. Another point must be reiterated. That point is that I am in full support of body positivity 100%. One reason on why I accept that principle wholeheartedly is that the Golden Rule teaches us that we ought to treat all human beings with dignity and respect, irrespective of color, creed, sex, nationality, background, etc. Only an evil person would exploit their fitness journey as an excuse to dehumanize another person based on his or her physical appearance. 

A righteous person, instead, would motivate and inspire people to be their best selves filled with a sincere motivation and a kind spirit to improve people's lives. The other reason is that healthy human beings are not monolithic. There are tons of people with outstanding health who are thinner, medium-sized, and plus-sized. For example, a figure skater, a ballet dancer, a basketball player, a football player (who is over 200 pounds and in shape), a woman professional sprinter can be very healthy in diverse body sizes. True beauty is not monolithic, but also very diverse. If everyone on Earth looked exactly the same, then the world will readily be duller. Yet, we have diversity as diversity is the spice of life found in humanity and Nature in general (from trees to diverse animal species). We humans exist in different colors (I am black and I love my black identity), cultures, nationalities, musical interests, and other hobbies. There is nothing wrong with that at all. At the end of the day, we want freedom which entails that quality healthcare should be given to all people without exceptions. We want cures to illnesses and diseases. Our health always matters in the Universe indeed.

By Timothy