Category Archives: History

Wednesday will mark the 100th trading day of 2022, a year that will likely be remembered for its historic market turbulence as the megacap tech stocks that had dominated the market for so long collapsed in what has been the most punishing retrenchment since the dot-com bust.

And with stocks mired deep in the red once again following a painfully short-lived bounce, the main U.S. benchmarks on Wednesday were set to finalize what has been among the worst starts to a year in market history.

According to Dow Jones Market Data, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.81% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.15% are on track for the worst first 100 trading days since 1970. And for the Nasdaq-100 NDX, -2.20%, its the worst ever.

After years of outperformance, the Nasdaq COMP, -2.35% has traded essentially straight lower for the last two months, losing nearly a quarter of its value with only a handful of brief but powerful rallies breaking up the relentless selling. Since March, the index has seen five countertrend rallies of 4% or more, according to Matt Weller, a market technician who studies near-term technical trends.

Analysts have blamed all the usual suspects: the inescapable burden of inflation, which taxes a companys future earnings, cheapening their value in the present. The hawkish Federal Reserve, which has been content to stand back and refrain from intervening to try to slow or reverse the bloodletting. And of course the war in Ukraine, which has contributed to higher food and energy prices, and shutdowns in China, which has wreaked more havoc on fragile global supply chains.

See: Markets are imploding because the Fed isnt doing its job, says billionaire investor Bill Ackman

For investors who are considering whether to reach out and try to snatch a falling knife, theres plenty of context that could help to put the 2022 selloff in perspective.

For example, Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial recentlypointed out that historically, midterm election years are tough for markets. U.S. stocks have lost more than 17% on average peak-to-trough. On average, the market bottoms during these years occur later in the year.

Shifting to discuss some historical points of interest for the S&P 500, the supremely popular U.S. equity benchmark, its worth noting that the index has been down for seven consecutive weeks this year, a streak seen just three other times in history: during 2001, 1980 and 1970.

In terms of volatility, the market has also been extremely interesting this year: the S&P 500 hasposted intraday swings of 2% or more on almost 40% of the days so far in 2022.

The pace of the selloff, and the impression that the U.S. economy will slide into a recession some time next year have inspired a gloomy outlook on markets. Few, if any, market bulls have come forward to call a bottom. And theres plenty of data to warrant caution.

Before the markets most recent attempt at a post-correction rebound faded on Tuesday, a team of analysts at Jefferies produced a note to clients analyzing forward returns for the S&P 500 a year after periods of historical losses to test the conventional wisdom that selloffs like these often reward courageous dip buyers.

In the note,the analysts examinedperiods wherethe S&P 500 had dropped 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% from its previous high. Using market data dating back to the 1950s, the analysts found that, historically speaking, U.S. stocks typically dont recoup their losses within a year, unless the indexes clear the 25% selloff mark.

Perhaps this is one reason why professional money managers remain so cautious. Bank of Americas most recent Global Fund Managers survey showed that over the past month fund managers have increased their cash position by 5%, reaching the highest level in 20 years in May. Recent surveys have also confirmed the gloomy atmosphere by showing that a gauge of financial market risk is at its highest level since Merril Lynch started the survey, with fund managers expecting slowing economic growth and rising rates to continue to weigh on stocks.

Thats not to say there arent some bulls left. Ateam of JP Morgan analysts recently told clients that up to $250 billion ofrebalancing flows away from bonds and into equitiescould trigger another brief rebound in stocks before the end of the second quarter.

Originally posted here:

Dow, S&P 500 head for worst start to a year since 1970 for tech its the worst in history - MarketWatch

In late October of 1917, while reports of death on a monstrous scale in World War I dominated the front pages of Limas newspapers, a woman who had been under the countys care since the Civil War passed away almost unnoticed.

Miss Mollie Sharp, aged 78 years, died at the Allen County Infirmary last night after an illness of 40 years. Miss Sharp went to the infirmary nearly 55 years ago, when a young woman, and helped clear away the woods where the buildings are now located, The Lima News reported Oct. 26, 1917.

With no living relatives, a brief service was held at the infirmary, and Sharp was laid to rest at the county cemetery, the newspaper wrote.

Sharp had been a resident of the Infirmary for nearly as long as the institution existed. Approved by the county in February 1857 as a place for the countys indigent, the Infirmary opened in 1859 on Ada Road in Bath Township.

A few days ago we visited the County Infirmary, for the first time since its opening, and were shown over the premises, Limas Weekly Gazette reported in July 1859. The farm, with a little management, will, we think, prove a good one. There is this season, under cultivation, 32 acres of corn, 21 acres of wheat, 9 or 10 acres of oats, besides a couple of acres potatoes, and garden stuffs sufficient for the institution.

Over the years, the Ada Road institution housed the sick and destitute, prisoners, orphans, the physically and mentally disabled and the insane. Which category Sharp fit into is not known.

In the early 1960s, the old red brick building Sharp had lived in for so long was razed and replaced by a white, concrete structure. Thirty years later, Allen County leased the site to a private healthcare company. It has been vacant since about 2010 and became a target for thieves and vandals. The roof collapsed years ago. In April of this year, the county announced the 62,000 square-foot building at 3125 Ada Road would be demolished and, along with the 70 acres of surrounding, county-owned farmland and woods, redeveloped.

The original infirmary building itself was part of a working farm, with many of the residents tending the surrounding fields as well as the hogs and cows kept in two large barns. Other residents worked in the gardens or in housekeeping. Two large, red barns, which today are part of the Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park District, were part of the Infirmary farm.

During Sharps more than half a century there, the infirmary was enlarged several times and was at one time the focus of a bitter political feud. The Allen County Republican reported in September 1889 the county had approved building a one-story insane asylum on the grounds.

This is certainly a good move, as the quarters where the hopeless insane of our county have been kept in the Infirmary building has been entirely too inadequate, and to care for them properly was almost an impossibility, the newspaper noted.

In the early 1890s, the county decided to build a separate childrens home in Shawnee Township. In early April 1893, the children, described as the outcasts and the friendless by the Allen County Republican-Gazette, were moved from the Infirmary to their new home.

H.B. Cores big wagon and two others brought them the seven miles, the newspaper wrote. It was an interesting sight to see them. The boys were on the tip toe of expectancy standing with hats in hand gazing anxiously around long before the place was reached.

In January 1913, supervision of the Infirmary as well as the Childrens Home, which had been under the auspices of the state, was placed under the county commissioners. Even with three Democratic commissioners Beech Graham, Enos Huffer and Arthur Fisher a political feud developed almost immediately.

Initially, Delbert McBride was handed the infirmary superintendents post, but David E. Baxter, a local Democratic Party bigwig, decided he had a better man for the job his cousin, Jacob C. Baxter. Commissioners Graham and Huffer were convinced by Baxter to support his cousin, while Fisher stuck with McBride and vowed to fight the re-election of Graham and Huffer, who hoped McBride would go quietly. He didnt.

Alleging McBrides short tenure was rife with mismanagement, Graham and Huffer voted to dismiss him in December 1913. McBride, however, refused to be dismissed, and the county briefly had two infirmary superintendents. The mess was turned over to the courts, which, after holding several contentious hearings, decided McBride had to go. He finally did in March 1914, although by then the political careers of all involved were well on their way to ruin.

In 1921, the name of the Infirmary was changed to the Allen County Home.

By that time, residents were predominantly the older people who could not care for themselves either physically or financially, The Lima News noted.

By 1961, the Allen County Home was showing its age and, despite the yeoman efforts of superintendent Floyd Jett and his wife, Ruth, the homes matron, the more-than-100-year-old structure was a nightmare to keep clean and safe as the number of residents increased. Walter O. Seiling, chairman of a committee formed to push for passage of a bond issue to finance a new home, wrote in The Lima News that the home was antiquated, a fire trap and a hazard in the community it has steep and narrow stairways and not enough fire escapes. If it ever caught fire, wed never be able to rescue all the people.

The community agreed a new home was needed, passing the bond issue handily. In late November 1963, with the new white brick home on the verge of opening, Mrs. Jett expressed her relief.

Within a month, Mrs. Floyd Jett, matron of the Allen County Home, can forget her big fear of the past 15 years, the Lima Citizen wrote Nov. 26, 1963. Residents will be moved soon into the bright and tidy new concrete and block fireproof home. And Ill worry about fires no more, says Mrs. Jett.

The new $875,000 home was ready for occupancy as the new year of 1964 began.

Now the 55 patients at the County Home will move into a modern, well-heated, well-equipped building complete with hospital wing and medical facilities, the Toledo Blade wrote Jan. 15, 1964. With a capacity of 135, the new home should provide for Allen Countys aged for some time, but matron Mrs. Ruth Jett says the building could be filled almost immediately.

In 1972 the Allen County Home was renamed the Allen Inn, and The Lima News columnist Hope Strong paid a visit.

Spending a day at the home is an eye-opener a far, far cry from the stereotype poor house. Individual and public rooms are in bright and cheerful colors. Many of the residents have favorite chairs, lamps and treasured accessories decorating their rooms, Strong wrote Oct. 8, 1972.

The Allen Inn became the Allen County Healthcare Center in 1988. Five years later, the county, concerned about the increasing expense of running the home, leased the building to Plus Management Services. The building would remain a private care facility until 2007. It was subsequently used as housing for nearby OSU-Lima until about 2010.

An undated postcard shows residents working around the old Allen County Home. The home was part of a working farm, and residents tended crops as well as livestock. In August 1891, the Allen County Democrat wrote that threshing had yielded 1,183 bushels of wheat, enough to run the institution over a year (and) a half, with the same quota of inmates as last winter, 135.

Reach Greg Hoersten at [emailprotected]

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Reminisce: History of the Allen County Home - LimaOhio.com

Today in OTM History

2021: Latest mock draft has Red Sox selecting Jack Leiter; This seemed like the best-case scenario at the time. Little did we know how things would actually go.

2020: The most underrated modern Red Sox players; Including my personal favorite Junichi Tazawa.

2019: A Kevin Youkilis appreciation post; Now hes out here killing it on NESN.

2016: Four Red Sox prospects in Keith Laws top 25; This was just about the peak of the system.

2014: Is 2014 a bridge year for the Red Sox?; The bridge would last two years, but it led to a good place.

1957: Ted Williams sparks some controversy as, on an off-day, he shot 35 pigeons with a shotgun while sitting on the bench in the Fenway bullpen.

Happy 49th birthday to Bartolo Coln, who has become something of a legend among baseball fans in general for his build and long career, but for Red Sox fans is not so well loved after just straight-up left the team back in 2008.

Happy 44th birthday to Brad Penny, who had a couple of All-Star caliber seasons with the Dodgers in the late 2000s, but struggled in his one season in Boston.

Many thanks to Baseball-Reference, NationalPastime.com and Today in Baseball History for assistance here, and thanks to Battery Power for the inspiration for these posts.

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Today in Boston Red Sox History: May 24 - Over The Monster

In February, season two of HBOs teen drama Euphoria reached a climax. Well, if that makes me a villain, proclaimed an unrepentant Cassie Howard, then so fucking be it. This much-memed line encapsulates popular cultures preoccupation with baddies, from Netflixs endless scammer series to Disneys villain origin stories. Social media is pretty much a conveyor belt of villainy, too, with different echo chambers picking their own adversaries. Meanwhile, famous young women such as Britney Spears, who were once demonised, are now being reappraised as victims. And with hindsights perfect vision, its clear that plenty of characters in TV and film were not the actual villain either.

We seem to be more accepting of some baddies than others. History is littered with famous probably-gay villains, from Alexander the Great to Roy Cohn, Senator McCarthys chief counsel and Trumps favourite lawyer. But unlike LGBTQ+ heroes such as Alan Turing or Audre Lorde, they are seldom remembered or claimed as gay. The question of why that should be the case is the starting point of Bad Gays: A Homosexual History by Huw Lemmey and Ben Miller. The books central argument is that, if we are to fully understand how todays gay identities evolved, the lives of villains the most deceitful, criminal, manipulative and power-hungry gay people are just as important as those of gay heroes such as Oscar Wilde.

Bad Gays is a continuation of the duos podcast of the same name, which profiles the evil and complicated queers in history such as Ernst Rhm, the worlds first out gay politician a Nazi and J Edgar Hoover, the FBI director who helped harass political dissidents and gay government employees and was posthumously outed by his friend, Broadway star Ethel Merman. We want to address our history and how gay identity came to be, Lemmey says. But if were ever going to understand our sexual identity in a way that is based around solidarity and friendship, we need to discuss gay people who were devious and ruthless, too.

The podcast began in 2019 when Lemmey, a Welsh author and film-maker, and Miller, a writer and historical researcher, were introduced to each other by friends. While recording the podcast, we found that there were recurring themes, says Lemmey. We kept coming back to colonialism, race and the creation of the white homosexual identity. And also the same disclaimer, which was that concepts like gay and homosexual didnt really exist before 1860. That was when sexologists and early gay rights campaigners first coined the term homosexual, and began to conceive of homosexual and heterosexual as innate sexual identities.

The pair discuss these issues more deeply in the book. The text still has the irreverent swishiness of the podcast there is a reference to evil twinks in the first few pages. But a key difference is that the book tells a story about how white gay identity was formed, and is more focused on men, whereas the podcast which has had five series and almost 1m downloads now profiles an even mix of men and women. When we started the podcast, it was only about men, because the ethics of two cis men talking about villainous women were less clear, Miller says. We changed that partly because women and trans people kept getting in touch saying: We want to be part of these stories and we trust you to tell them.

Bad Gays starts with the story of perpetually horny Roman emperor Hadrian. Next we learn about King James, whose ascension to the throne of Scotland and England formed the United Kingdom. Jamess rule was defined by authoritarian laws, colonialism and misogynistic witch-hunts and by his attraction to athletic jousters half his age. The book unpacks how the gangster Ronnie Kray became an unironic icon of masculinity. And how the Hitler sympathiser and architect Philip Johnson came to influence the skylines of Americas cities more than any other. For us, its not about casting these figures aside and saying: They have nothing to teach us, Lemmey says. Its not fair to say these people are always monsters. Just like our heroes, villains are complicated there are hidden aspects of their lives that might explain their actions.

Rejecting an apolitical approach to LGBTQ+ history and culture, and telling the story of how todays dominant white gay identity was formed, Lemmey and Miller explain how it can uphold systems that marginalise trans people, women, the working class and people of colour. While they are sympathetic to their subjects individually even the murderers they are much more critical of the white gay identity their legacies have helped to form. The authors argue for a dismantling of oppressive structures, rather than mere representation within them a philosophy similar to the gay liberation movements of the 1970s.

When I ask which figure best epitomises the book, Lemmey responds with Thomas Edward Lawrence. He is known as the impossibly blond hero Lawrence of Arabia, who we saw riding a camel across the desert screaming No prisoners! in David Leans 1962 cinema spectacular. But his kinky gay sexual awakening he detailed in his diaries regular thrashings administered by Jack Bruce, a member of the Scots Guards who later sold his story to the tabloids was entwined with imperialist philosophies that persist. His sexual desire towards colonised people was built out of both admiration and exploitation, Lemmey says. The way he used the figure of the colonised primitive was indicative of the types of white identity formation we discuss here. Like all of the books subjects, he was complicated.

The rest is here:

Evil twinks and gay gangsters: why we need to remember historys horrid homosexuals - The Guardian

The Miami Heat didn't just struggle in the first quarter of Game 4 vs. the Boston Celtics. They had one of the worst starts to a playoff game in NBA history.

Miami shot 0-for-14 from the field to begin Monday night's Eastern Conference Finals matchup at TD Garden. It scored one point in the first eight minutes, marking the fewest points through the first eight minutes of a playoff game over the last 25 years.

The Heat didn't make their first shot until 3:22 remaining in the first quarter. That's the longest a team has gone without a field goal to start any postseason game in the last 25 years.

Boston outscored Miami 29-11 in the first quarter. That's the fewest first-quarter playoff points in Heat franchise history. Celtics star Jayson Tatum outscored the Heat on his own with 12 points in the first frame.

Miami shot 3-for-20 from the field in the nightmare first quarter. The Celtics, meanwhile, were 9-for-22 with Derrick White adding 10 points in place of the injured Marcus Smart.

The Celtics are looking to even the series at 2-2 before heading back to Miami for Game 5.

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Heat make history with horrendous start to Game 4 vs. Celtics - NBC Sports Boston

The celebratory moment was pre-meditated for the South Carolina native as from an early age Zindzi was set on becoming a doctor.

I have always wanted to be a doctor for as long as I can remember, theres nothing else that I wanted to be, Zindzi said, according to News Channel 5.

Ten years later, Zindzi went to Mary Baldwin University in Virginia to obtain a four-year degree through a gifted program open to 20 women. Although the five-hour move was difficult for her parents, they refused to get in the way of their childs dream.

A big part of the process has been letting her go and achieve her goal. And thats been the hardest part. The academics for her and knowing that she was going to do it was easy, but not having your daughter through those years was the hard part, Samuel Thompson said to News Channel 5.

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Zindzi Thompson Set To Make History As The Youngest Black Woman To Graduate From Meharry Medical College - AfroTech

Stanford is once again the top seed entering match play in the NCAA DI Womens Golf Championship. But, its hoping that history doesnt fully repeat itself.

A year ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Cardinal led the field through four days of stroke play, only to fall to Arizona in the quarterfinals of match play, 3-2.

Looking for redemption and with a second straight individual champion on its side Stanford finished stroke play this year at 9 over par. That was three shots better than second-seeded Oregon. No top seed has won the women's championship since match play was instituted in 2015. Stanford, however, won in '15 as a 4-seed.

The other teams to advance to the match-play portion of the championship were: Texas A&M (+14), UCLA (+17), Auburn (+23), Florida State (+27), San Jose State (+29) and Georgia (+30).

Rose Zhang won the NCAA womens individual title, becoming the second-straight Stanford freshman to win the title.

Rose Zhang won the individual title by three shots, closing in 75 to finish at 6 under par. She followed Rachel Heck, in 21, as Stanford freshmen to claim that trophy.

Quarterfinal action will take place on Golf Channel, beginning at noon ET on Tuesday. The semifinals will begin at 5 p.m. ET on Golf Channel. The finals will take place Wednesday, also at 5 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.

Here are the quarterfinal matchups:

(1) Stanford vs. (8) Georgia

(4) UCLA vs. (5) Auburn

(2) Oregon vs. (7) San Jose State

(3) Texas A&M vs. (6) Florida State

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Stanford again top-seeded women's team, but hoping history does not repeat - Golf Channel

The Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse have been working to restore the lighthouse and keepers' home since 2003. Now, they offer tours of the island.

The Maine coastline is famous for the lighthouses that dot the rugged shore, but keeping them in ship-shape condition is no small task.

On any given Tuesday, if the seas are obliging, volunteers fromThe Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse take a 20-minute boat ride from Biddeford Pool to Wood Island, where they've been working since 2003 to restore the lighthouse and keeper's home.

Technology has, in large part, replaced the need for lighthouse keepers. Where kerosene lamps used to burn, now LED lights are stacked. Volunteers may not be warning storm-tossed mariners of the jagged coastline. Currently, they are working to keep the history of Wood Island alive.

Volunteers offer toursof the newly-restored home and tower beginning in July and running through August.

The Coast Guard owns the property of Wood Island and maintains the light that shines 12 miles out to sea. But for the last two decades, The Friends of Wood Island have licensed the island, raised thousands of dollars, and restored the property to how it looked in 1906. Every detail has been accounted for from the furniture inside the home to the shingles on the outside.

"The history of [these] area lighthouses are emblematic of Maine," George Bruns, chair of the executive committee of Friends of Wood Island Lighthouse, said.

The first lighthouse on Wood Island was built of wood in 1808 and later replaced by the same tower that is still standing today in 1939. Several rescues happened on the island over the years, including the rescue of two-year-old Tammy Burnham.

On Nov. 29, 1960, the Burnhams were the lighthouse keepers when their daughter fell ill. Fearing she might be having appendicitis, the Burnhams radioed for help. With a fierce storm at sea, Fletcher's Neck Coast Guard boat, a "thirty footer," and its four-person crew left the docks at Biddeford Pool. The ship got as close to the island as possible before two 19-year-old seamen took a small skiff to the island, where Laurier Burnham reluctantly handed over his sick daughter.

Before long, the skiff had swamped, and the seamen needed rescuing. Eventually, Laurier Burnham was able to reach his daughter and the seamen. They had been in the water for 40 minutes. Tammy was taken to an area hospital, where she fully recuperated.

One story of Wood Island still haunts the island. In the 1890s, Thomas Henry Orcutt was the lighthouse keeper when a murder-suicide took place on the island. A tenant living on the island killed his landlord and then knocked on the keeper's home seeking advice. Orcutt is alleged to have told the man "to go back and turn himself in." He didn't.

"The lighthouse is supposedly haunted. Supposedly the ghost has said, 'I didn't mean to do it,'" Bruns shared.

Wood Island Lighthouse kept mariners safe for decades, and now volunteers are safeguarding its history and sharing it.

"If you live anywhere in this area, you become familiar with [the lighthouse], and you rely on it. It's somewhat like an old friend," volunteer David Adams said.

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Keeping the history of an isolated ME lighthouse alive - NewsCenterMaine.com WCSH-WLBZ

The Time 100 Most Influential list includes eight Olympians, the most ever in the annual lists 19-year history. At least one Olympian made each edition dating to the first year in 2004.

Beijing Olympic gold medalistsNathan ChenandEileen Guwere joined by soccer playersAlex Morgan,Megan RapinoeandBecky Sauerbrunn, tennis players Rafael Nadal and Peng Shuai and basketball player Candace Parker.

Time 100 listees are based on factors including relevance, impact, innovation, leadership, ambition and success.

Chen and Gu were spotlight athletes in February, each earning gold at the Beijing Games. Chen became the first U.S. singles figure skater to take gold since 2010, four years after struggling as a favorite. Figure skaters Adam Rippon(2018) andYuna Kim(2010) previously made the Time 100.

That perseverance never wavered, even after his first Olympics didnt go as hed hoped, two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan wrote for Time. He trained for another four years and showed the world just how fierce a competitor he is.

Gu earned two golds and a bronze in freestyle skiing as the host nations biggest star. She competed while scrutinized for her decision to switch representation in 2019 from the U.S. to China, her mothers birth nation.

Its hard for athletes particularly Olympic athletes to transcend their sport. Eileen Gu is an exception to that rule, fellow Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy wrote for Time. Im not sure Ive ever seen anybody more disciplined, driven, or determined than Eileen. And hard work pays off.

Morgan, Rapinoe and Sauerbrunn have been longtime leaders for the U.S. womens soccer team, winning Olympic and World Cup titles. Last week, after a yearslong battle, a historic victory was scored with the announcement of equal pay for the U.S. mens and womens national teams.

Nadal made the list for a second time 13 years after his previous appearance after winning a mens record-breaking 21st major singles title at the Australian Open.

Peng, an Olympic tennis player in 2008, 2012 and 2016, made the list in the Icons category. Last November, she accused a former high-ranking Chinese government official of sexual assault in a Weibo post that was soon deleted.

Parker, a 36-year-old mom, won her second WNBA title last season and first with her hometown team, the Chicago Sky.

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Olympians and Paralympians on Time100 lists, counting only athletes who had competed in the Games before being listed:

2022 Nathan Chen, Eileen Gu, Alex Morgan, Rafael Nadal, Candace Parker, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Peng Shuai2021 Simone Biles, Allyson Felix, Suni Lee, Naomi Osaka2020 Allyson Felix, Maya Moore, Megan Rapinoe, Dwyane Wade2019 LeBron James, Alex Morgan,Mo Salah, Caster Semenya2018 Kevin Durant,Roger Federer,Chloe Kim,Adam Rippon2017 Simone Biles, LeBron James, Neymar2016 Usain Bolt,Caitlyn Jenner,Katie Ledecky,Sania Mirza,Ronda Rousey2015 Abby Wambach2014 Cristiano Ronaldo, Serena Williams2013 LeBron James, Li Na, Lindsey Vonn2012 Novak Djokovic,Lionel Messi,Oscar Pistorius2011 Lionel Messi2010 Yuna Kim,Serena Williams2009 Rafael Nadal2008 Andre Agassi,Lance Armstrong,Oscar Pistorius2007 Roger Federer,Chien Ming-Wang2006 JoeyCheek,Steve Nash2005 LeBron James2004 Lance Armstrong, Paula Radcliffe, Yao Ming2000 (20th Century) Muhammad Ali

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Time 100 includes most Olympians in annual lists history - Home of the Olympic Channel

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) Caps and gowns are on, and its time for 2022 graduation photos.

Robert Morton of Cre8tive Visions

But behind these Wildcats celebratory smiles, there are stories of perseverance.

Dr. Shericka Smith is a member of the inaugural class of graduates from the University of Kentuckys Doctor of Social Work Program, or DSW.

I'm not really supposed to be here, she said. According to society, according to statistics, according to what everybody else thinks, you know what Black women are supposed to be or supposed to look like, or not supposed to be, or not supposed to look like. That's what makes me the most proud.

Dr. Smith is proud because she and her peers are members of a ground-breaking group. Within their class is the most Black doctors to ever graduate from a single discipline at UK.

We literally made history, said Dr. Sharrion Brown. And that's not something I'm used to. I'm the first person in my immediate family to graduate college, let alone get this far.

Dr. Brown and Dr. Smith joined some of their fellow graduates at the student center last week to talk to LEX 18 about their accomplishments. We met women like Dr. Marilyn Lucille Sails, Dr. Cerenity Leavell-Barker, Dr. Angela Williams, and Dr. Cynae Adams.

They all graduated from the online program in two years, meaning they went to school full-time while working. Many of them are also parents.

I have two children, so I hope one day they can see this and think they're proud their mother was a part of this, said Dr. Brittany Gentry.

According to UK, 23 of the programs 72 graduating doctorate students are Black, including three Black men. Its representation professors say will make a difference in a field thats historically made up of white women.

It's hard to become what you don't see, said Dr. Laura Escobar-Ratliff, the DSW program director. And we are providing opportunities for children to see themselves.

We deal with diverse communities, said Dr. Jay Miller, the dean of the College of Social Work. And it is extremely important practitioners reflect those communities.

A 2017 survey from the National Association of Social Workers found nearly 70% of social workers are white. Dr. Gentry says those disparities are part of the reason she enrolled in the program.

The need for people of color as therapists, as mentors, as case managers, has increased significantly, she told LEX 18.

To many of the graduates, the title of Dr. still feels surreal. But they hope the two letters on the front of their names inspire future students who also want to make a difference.

We see things on TV, about, Oh this is history-making, people make history. And to actually be a part of making history, it's once in a lifetime, Dr. Smith said.

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Meet the social work graduates making history at the University of Kentucky - LEX 18 News - Lexington, KY