Lois Mailou Jones (1905-1988) was an acclaimed art educator and artist of the 20^th century. She received her training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts and other important institutions but faced discrimination for her gender and race. She worked in textiles  influenced by the Harlem Renaissance Movement and African and Haitian design developing her colorful, geometric style. She worked on canvas and found herself in brush and paint. She excelled. Lois Mailou Jones was honored for outstanding achievement in the arts by President Carter in 1980. Her work is part of many important museum collections around the country.

The intergenerational piece, Two African Hairstyles, seems to name what many women are now feeling after the Roe v. Wade ruling.  Identifying with the older figure we who came of age when the right to choose was a matter of established precedent stand behind the precious little girls in our lives in objection and concern. That this is a complicated issue cannot be denied though at its center now is the fact that on June 24, 2022, the issue of this personal right was sent back to the states by the highest court of this land. It will not survive in many places.

May we search our hearts and clear our minds for the years of struggle ahead. May we listen and educate and find a way through the sharp edges of this controversy with God’s help for the little girls, for the children we love.

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church