Juneteenth is a time to reflect on the struggles for justice of people of African descent in what is now the United States. It is also a moment to reflect on how much more there is still left to do.
As an herbalist, it's an opportunity to reflect on the inestimable contributions of African Americans - often under-acknowledged- to the beautiful mosaic of herbalism here, beginning with wisdom and seeds brought by enslaved peoples, interwoven with the native plants and Native American wisdom and knowledge they encountered here.
For me personally, it is also an opportunity to highlight one of my herbal heroes: James Still, the "Black Doctor of the Pines".
Born in 1812 in southern New Jersey, he was the son of former slaves; his mother had to make two escape attempts before she was successful in escaping her captivity and settling in New Jersey. James knew from a very young age that he wanted to be a doctor, realizing as he got older that that was not possible in 19th century United States. Then, in his 30s he purchased an herbal in a bookshop in Philadelphia and realized he could still pursue his dream. He became wealthy and successful, serving both his own community and the wealthy white community, and successfully fought off several attempts by the New Jersey legislature to shut him down. You can read more about him here. I highly recommend reading his memoir, which is free online here, and you can also visit his office which is a protected site in NJ, not far from where I grew up. I included James Stills' story in an article I wrote for the American Herbalists Guild in 2014.
"Health is a greater boon than riches, surpassing every earthly blessing."James Still
Remarkably, James was the older brother of William Still, generally known as The Father of the Underground Railroad (played by Leslie Odom Jr in the recent film about Harriet Tubman). What a family! William Still's book The Underground Railroad is available free online, and is a collection of his accounts of many of the people he personally helped escape to safety. I highly recommend it as a primary source of history, to understand the horror of slavery through the lens of people's individual stories.
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