Dr. D. Elisabeth GlasscoJul 2, 2023

Onesimus, a Boston enslaved man, saved hundreds of people from the horrors of smallpox in 1721. His contributions to science reverberate to this day b/c his knowledge led to what became the 1st vaccine-related study in America. Onesimus’s story illustrates the degree to which reputable men of science de­pended on the testimony & experience of Africans in dealing with a dreaded disease.

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Show threadLachesisJul 2, 2023
@Deglassco @[email protected] @BlackMastodon
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probably a painted portrait of Onesimus ("oh-NEE-see-muss") from the neck up, a good looking guy with warm brown skin, soft alert eyes (direct gaze), a half-smile showing teeth, short black hair, a bit of shirt and jacket collar fading out at the bottom. I'd let HIM inoculate me, wink wink
Show threadWolleysegap
@Lachesis @Deglassco @[email protected] @BlackMastodon The name probably seems strange to Western readers but there was a man by that name around when the Apostle Paul was making his missionary journeys. He probably was a slave to a man named Philemon. That Onesimus worked with Paul and was eventually declared a saint, at least by the Eastern Orthodox.
Jul 3, 2023 at 2:45pmWeb
Show threadLachesisJul 4, 2023

@Wolleysegap @BlackMastodon @Deglassco

"...I could be bold & order you to do what you ought to do,
yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love.
It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus—
that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,
who became my son while I was in chains.

"...If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me."
-- by paul from tarsus, the wandering tentmaker, rehabilitated & vehement