© 2024 WCLK
Atlanta's Jazz Station--Classic, Cool, Contemporary
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Jazz 91.9 WCLK | Membership Matters

The Local Take Women's History Month Spotlight: Rev. Dr. Juel P. Borders-Benson

 This month for The Local Take, I've reached out to outstanding women for Women's History Month.  If you want to tell us about an outstanding woman in your life, please go to The Local Take With Kiplyn Primus Facebook page and share or call our community engagement line at 404-880-6211. We'll be talking with and about women all month, and it would be great to include your favorite woman! Our series starts with Dr. Juel P. Borders-Benson. We spoke with Dr. Borders-Benson last month about growing up in Wheat Street Baptist Church. I asked her additional questions about her life, attending Spelman College and attending medical school in the late fifties. 
She speaks about being sheltered at church, home, and school. She was always chaperoned and protected from the dark and evil side of life for Black people in the 1940's and 50's. She started at Spelman College at age 16. She remembered being socially immature and thought that she'd major in philosophy or theology. She remembers not wanting to be a teacher, one of the only career paths available to Black women at the time. She interviewed with the Women's Medical College associated with the Albert Einstein Medical Center at Drexel in Philadelphia. There were only women in the class. Most years, 1 or 2 Black women were allowed. After completing medical school, she took on a residency in obstetrics. 
 
She married, moved back to Atlanta, and opened her medical practice, where she can still be found today. She spoke about life-long learning, and later in life, she graduated from The Candler School of Theology at Emory University. 

 
For more information on Dr. Juel P. Borders-Benson