military families – Gloria Shell Mitchell

Memorial Day Tribute to Veterans

On this Memorial Day, I salute my sister, Elizabeth Shell Carr, for years of service to Black Veterans for Social Justice. As a LCSW, her inspiration came from a desire to help female veterans suffering from military sexual trauma (MST) and the following family members who served in the armed forces: Uncle Samuel Pelzer- Army Uncle Ruben Pelzer-Army Uncle James Pelzer-Army Uncle Jervia Pelzer, Jr. – Army Sister Cynthia McNeil- Marines Brother-in-law Lewis June – […]

Pay Attention to Your Doodling

Is there something that you absolutely must accomplish before leaving planet earth? I had a lifelong habit of doodling until a friend asked, “What are you always writing?” My strokes were always the same but I never paid attention to “what” I scribbled. The marks on the paper looked like chicken scratch. I examined them by turning the paper around and discovered “BOOK” in seven different places. After making that discovery, my doodling habit disappeared […]

Bliss and Blisters in Love & Marriage

Prologue I am delighted to share my story of love and loss during the Vietnam War era. Perhaps our marital relationship would have been quite different had the military draft not been a reality in our young adult experience. We’ll never know. Yet, on behalf of the 58,220 young men and women who lost their lives in combat and for other causes on foreign soil (per the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC), I felt […]