The Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition, in partnership with the City of Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, the Gwinnett Historical Restoration and Preservation Board, and the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) of Montgomery, Ala., will dedicate a historical marker. It will honor the memory of Charles Hale, an African American resident of Gwinnett County, who was lynched in 1911 on the Lawrenceville courthouse square.
The Historical Marker dedication ceremony will take place virtually on Saturday, January 15, at 11 a.m. The program will include a short memorial service, a dedication ceremony, and statements from Mr. Hale’s family and local elected officials from Gwinnett County and the City of Lawrenceville. This service will also include the announcement by an EJI representative of the winners of a racial justice essay contest for students in Gwinnett County public high schools.
Residents and community members interested in participating virtually should register via Eventbrite to receive a livestream link for January 15. Register by clicking here or at https://gwinnettrc.eventbrite.com.
This ceremony follows a June 2021 event in which soil was collected near the spot where Mr. Hale was lynched. Jars containing this soil will be displayed in Gwinnett County and at EJI’s Legacy Museum in Montgomery.
The historical marker will be located on the west side of Lawrenceville square. Community members and members of the press are invited to visit the memorial at their convenience after it is installed to learn about the history of lynchings and racial terror in Gwinnett County.
The Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition is a diverse group of Gwinnett residents who have come together to memorialize local victims of racial terror and lynchings and to educate the Gwinnett community about this dark chapter in our county’s history.
Ray Harvin, chair of the Gwinnett Remembrance Coalition, says: “Confronting our history is painful, but doing so is essential if we are to learn from the past and move beyond it. Our silence about this history allows the legacy of racist violence and injustice to continue to poison our community in ways that harm us all. Only by coming together to acknowledge past wrongs can we ensure that these wrongs are not repeated.”
GGC opens Tuesday with in-person instruction
Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) will begin its spring semester with in-person instruction on Tuesday, January 18.
The college continues to adhere to current guidance from the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Public Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
College officials strongly encourage students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear masks in campus buildings and to continue social distancing and other practices to protect against COVID-19.
For those interested in receiving COVID-19 vaccines, GGC will continue to work with the Community Organized Relief Effort to host COVID-19 vaccine clinics on campus between January and May. Complimentary vaccinations and boosters will be administered to faculty, staff, students and the community in the Student Center third-floor lounge from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Patient thanks local neurosurgeon for saving her life
Penney and Rachelle Broom. Photo provided.
Dr. Donald Penney, a clinical professor of emergency medicine at PCOM Georgia, experienced an incredible gift just before the holidays. A former patient, who says he saved her life some 27 years ago, reached out to thank him.
Penney
The reunion between Dr. Penney and Rachelle Broom, a nurse at Northeast Georgia Medical Center, who is studying to be a family nurse practitioner at Brenau University, was made possible through a mutual friend. Dr. Renee Himmelbaum, a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at PCOM Georgia and a practicing pediatrician in Gwinnett, introduced the two medical professionals through email. Dr. Himmelbaum, who graduated from PCOM Georgia, is a former student of Dr. Penney’s and now a colleague.
The physician/patient story began in 1994. Following a high school football game, 18-year-old Broom, a senior at Norcross High School, was riding in the backseat of a Bronco 2 with her boyfriend, Brian Watkins, 19. Neither were wearing seatbelts. In a matter of seconds, the driver overcorrected as the SUV ran off the road. The vehicle flipped and the couple was ejected. Watkins was later pronounced brain dead at the hospital. Broom survived with multiple injuries to her right side, including a head injury.
Dr. Penney was on call that night. Recruited to Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville (now Northside Hospital Gwinnett), in 1993 as the second neurosurgeon for fast-growing Gwinnett County, he evaluated the situation. Recalling that Broom had a life-threatening brain hemorrhage, he remembers discussing the situation with Broom’s mother and receiving permission to perform a craniotomy.
He said, “Obviously the surgery had a good outcome. It changed Rachelle’s life and I’m honored to be here. It’s humbling for me,” he said, acknowledging the gifts he believes he’s been given. He noted, “As a neurosurgeon for over 30 years, it’s not like you have this experience often. With more than 1,000 procedures during my career, only two to three former patients have contacted me.”
Penney grew up in Toronto, Canada, and trained at McGill University in Montreal. He honed his skills at Cook County Hospital’s level one trauma center in Chicago, which is well known for trauma management.
He said, “I was at the right place at the right time. I’ve been blessed with mentors throughout my career.”
Penney worked as a neurosurgeon in Gwinnett for 20 years before moving to Casper, Wyoming, to work in a trauma center. His family, including his wife, Line, and his youngest daughter, Dawn, made the decision to return to Gwinnett in 2016 and he accepted a teaching position at PCOM Georgia. Dawn Penney (DO ’23) is now a member of the PCOM Georgia DO class of 2023.
Broom credits the accident with launching her interest in health care and a nursing career. The first person in her family to graduate from college, she earned an RN in 2003, and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of South Alabama in 2012.
She worked in a variety of nursing settings and states before returning to Georgia in 2015 to work at Gwinnett Medical Center. Coming full circle, she knew for many years that she wanted to thank Dr. Penney for saving her life. It took seven years, some internet research, and a serendipitous friendship for the meeting to occur.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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