{"id":22288,"date":"2024-07-30T01:20:07","date_gmt":"2024-07-30T05:20:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/?p=22288"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:40:27","slug":"crown-heights-dedicates-street-to-brooklyns-birth-mother-in-commemorative-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/crown-heights-dedicates-street-to-brooklyns-birth-mother-in-commemorative-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Crown Heights Dedicates Street to \u2018Brooklyn’s Birth Mother\u2019 in Commemorative Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Christopher Edwards<\/a><\/p>\n

A trailblazer in her time, gynecologist Dr. Josephine English is said to have delivered an estimated 6,000 babies throughout her career. Now, a street in Crown Heights where she once lived bears her name.<\/p>\n

Dozens of English\u2019s family members, friends\u00a0and former patients attended a co-naming ceremony on Saturday for the intersection of President Street\u00a0and New York Avenue in Crown Heights, which will now be co-named\u00a0The English Way<\/em>. Several who knew English, including New York State Attorney General Letitia James, spoke about her impact at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. English was a transformational figure. She focused on maternal healthcare before it became a movement,\u201d said James, who got to know English during her time as a Council Member. \u201cShe was in the forefront of maternal healthcare, particularly for Black women.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"img_2494-2\"

New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks at the co-naming ceremony for ‘The English Way,’ honoring Dr. Josephine English. Photo: Christopher Edwards.<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n

Born in Ontario, Virginia in 1920, and raised in Englewood, N.J., Englis earned her B.A. at Hunter College and her M.A in psychology from New York University. She graduated Meharry Medical College in 1949, specializing in obstetrics and gynecology.<\/p>\n

She began her career working at Harlem Hospital before she moved to Brooklyn and founded a women\u2019s community health clinic in Bushwick in 1956, making her the first Black woman to open a private practice in the state of New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was incredibly ambitious, and she worked so hard,\u201d said John Sheppard, English\u2019s son. \u201cShe worked six days a week, and she delivered babies at all times of the day and night. She did abortions on Saturdays. You\u2019d think Saturday would be a day off for her, but that was one of her hardest days.\u201d<\/p>\n

English founded the Adelphi Medical Center in 1979, which included a senior citizen center, a daycare center, an after-school center\u00a0and a summer youth program. Among the thousands of babies she delivered were all six\u00a0of Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz\u2019s children.<\/p>\n

Later in her career, English took an interest in the arts and founded the\u00a0Paul Robeson Theatre<\/a>\u00a0in Fort Greene\u00a0in 1982. She\u00a0passed<\/a>\u00a0away in December 2011 at the age of 91.<\/p>\n

The effort to co-name a street after English was spearheaded by Tenisha Carrington, a filmmaker who has been working on a documentary about Dr. English since 2022. Carrington, who was also delivered by Dr. English, got the idea to make a documentary about her after seeing her name on her birth certificate and asking her mother for more information about Dr. English.<\/p>\n

\n

\"img_2576\"

Photos and memorabilia from Dr. Josephine English’s life. Photo: Christopher Edwards.<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis film and the street co-naming is not just a tribute, but a call to sustain the legacy of our change makers, our community heroes and our medical pioneers, because we need a blueprint,\u201d said Carrington. \u201cIt was essential to have this sign in the neighborhood that Dr. English restored herself and nurtured her family, to lay a stamp, to remind those who passed by the rich history of this block.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Carrington has launched a\u00a0fundraiser for the film<\/a>, tentatively titled\u00a0The English Way<\/i>. Throughout the filmmaking process, she has become close with English\u2019s family, who is heavily involved in the documentary.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be able to share the story with the world and for it to be a documentary that people can watch and really know the history of my bloodline, I’m excited,\u201d said Joanne English Rollieson, a niece. \u201cI’m just proud to be a part of her legacy. And it makes me feel good to see all the support we have here in Brooklyn.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"img_2570\"

Filmmaker Tenisha Carrington (Yellow shirt) and her documentary crew. Photo: Christopher Edwards.<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n

The film\u2019s title,\u00a0The English Way,<\/i>\u00a0is inspired by the physician’s reputation of giving selflessly. \u201cWhenever people were in need, they would ring the bell,\u201d said Barry Shepperd, English\u2019s son. \u201cThey couldn’t get their rent money, she’d write them a check, or see them in the office and not get paid.\u201d<\/p>\n

English reflected on her legacy in a 2008 oral history\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0archived by\u00a0the\u00a0Center for Brooklyn History,<\/a> part of the Brooklyn Public Library.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did it on my own, that’s why I have nothing today. I’m a pauper,\u201d said English. \u201cBut I love the community, and I love my people, and I tried so hard to help them.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Christopher Edwards A trailblazer in her time, gynecologist Dr. Josephine English is said to have delivered an estimated 6,000 babies throughout her career. Now, a street in Crown Heights where she once lived bears her name. Dozens of English\u2019s family members, friends\u00a0and former patients attended a co-naming ceremony on Saturday for the intersection of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5904,"featured_media":22289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,515],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-buzzin","category-crown-heights-neighborhoods-2"],"yoast_head":"\nCrown Heights Dedicates Street to \u2018Brooklyn's Birth Mother\u2019 in Commemorative Event - Brooklyn News and Events<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/brooklynbuzz\/crown-heights-dedicates-street-to-brooklyns-birth-mother-in-commemorative-event\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crown Heights Dedicates Street to \u2018Brooklyn's Birth Mother\u2019 in Commemorative Event\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Christopher Edwards A trailblazer in her time, gynecologist Dr. Josephine English is said to have delivered an estimated 6,000 babies throughout her career. 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