Dr Jane Goodall-Messenger of Hope-and Medal of Freedom Award

Dr. Jane Goodall received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Biden , recognizing her environmental activism. The Barbie Inspiring Women Series also features a collectible doll representing her legacy. Goodall advocates for mindful eating and local food production while promoting hope amid global challenges in her recent book, “The Book of Hope.”

updated January 6, 2025 and October 2, 2025

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the United States’ highest civilian honour, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavours.

Dr Jane Goodall, DBE, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025. The award recognized Dr. Jane’s activism, vision, and message of hope, which have mobilized a global movement to protect the planet.

“I am deeply honoured to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” said Dr. Jane Goodall. “This recognition reflects the hope and action of so many people who inspire and motivate me every day in the firm belief that together we can and we must save the natural world for ourselves and future generations.”

Dr. Jane Goodall, an Inspiring Woman

  • The Barbie Inspiring Women Series honors ethologist and activist Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (more at janegoodall.org), with a collectible Barbie doll made from recycled materials.
  • The Dr. Jane Goodall Barbie doll comes equipped with a notebook and a pair of binoculars and wears field attire featuring a khaki shirt, shorts, and boots.
  • This collectible doll is joined by a figure inspired by one of her most famous subjects, chimpanzee David Graybeard.
  • The Dr. Jane Goodall Barbie doll is the first in the Inspiring Women Series to be made from recycled materials.
  • This celebration of Dr. Jane Goodall’s decades of dedication, ground-breaking research, and heroic achievements makes a great gift for collectors and kids ages 6 years old and up.

(This and other posts on this blog contain affiliate links that may pay a small commission to this blog, while you pay nothing extra, but only if you click, look, and make a purchase. Quite a deal for us both. )

In the Shadow of Man-and chimpanzees

In 1960,26 year old Jane Goodall went to Tanzania to study chimpanzees. No one had studied chimps before, so little was known about their behavior in the wild. Biologically and genetically, chimps are closer to humans than any other animal, so scientists believed understanding their behavior could shed light on some aspects of human behavior.

Jane roamed the forests of the Gombe Stream Chimpanze Reserve in Tanzania watching the chimps first with binoculars then with direct observation at close range, even occasionally close enough to touch them. Her mother Vanne lived with her and a photographer Hugo van Lawick joined them.

Working together with nature and animals as their common interest,Jane and Hugo fell in love and married. Eventually she had a staff of research assistants and students involved in observation and reporting about the chimps and other animals.

Title page of the book I bought at a used book sale.

In this book, written 10 years later, Dr. Goodall details her years of living among the chimps and her detailed observations and conclusions about their behavior. (For which she earned her doctorate degree.)

“like humans, chimpanzees are omnivores, feeding on vegetables, insects, and meat.”

Dr Goodall

Harvest for Hope-A Guide to Mindful Eating

Jane Goodall is just as interested in people as she is in chimpanzees. Despite the title this book is not about dining while listening to soothing music by candlelight to relax and de-stress.

Jane Goodall wants us to manage stress , not so much our own, but the stress of our planet, by producing, transporting, preparing, and eating our food in ways less harmful and wasteful to us and our planet.

Our food choices affect the environment as much as the environment affects our diet.

Goodall reflected back on her life as a child in England when her family’s food supply was limited by the shortages of a world war. Even in peacetime, they ate what was grown locally and seasonally, rather than food flown in from distant lands. Her nutrition ideas are not new or unique, but she helps us realize our food choices affect the environment as much as the environment affects our diet.

Dr. Goodall recommends buying locally grown, organic foods exclusively. She advocates a meat-free diet. She urges us to waste less. She believes we need to “take back food productions from large corporations.”  By doing so, we will be healthier and so will our planet.

Dr. Jane advocates humans avoid

  • GMO (genetically modified organism) foods
  • meat
  • imported food
  • bottled water
  • fast food
  • refined processed carbs
  • concentrated and synthetic sweeteners
  • commercial oils

Dr. Jane encourages us to

  • Take back food production from large corporations
  • Waste less.
  • Use a filter for drinking water
  • Eat organic locally grown food.
  • Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes
  • Use olive oil, herbs, seasonings

Vote like our planet’s future depends on it-because it does

Dr. Jane Goodall

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times (Global Icons Series) 

In The Book of Hope, Dr. Jane focuses on her “Four Reasons for Hope”:

  • The Resilience of Nature,
  • The Amazing Human Intellect,
  • The Power of Young People, and
  • The Indomitable Human Spirit.

Looking at the headlines―the worsening climate crisis, a global pandemic, loss of biodiversity, political upheaval―it can be hard to feel optimistic. And yet hope has never been more desperately needed.

In this urgent book, Jane Goodall, the world’s most famous living naturalist, and Douglas Abrams, the internationally bestselling co-author of The Book of Joy, explore through intimate and thought-provoking dialogue one of the most sought after and least understood elements of human nature: hope.

The Book of Hope touches on vital questions, including: How do we stay hopeful when everything seems hopeless? How do we cultivate hope in our children? What is the relationship between hope and action?

Filled with moving and inspirational stories and photographs from Jane’s remarkable career, The Book of Hope is a deeply personal conversation with one of the most beloved figures in the world today.

While discussing the experiences that shaped her discoveries and beliefs, Jane tells the story of how she became a messenger of hope, from living through World War II to her years in Gombe to realizing she had to leave the forest to travel the world in her role as an advocate for environmental justice. And for the first time, she shares her profound revelations about her next, and perhaps final, adventure. (an Amazon affiliate link)

Exploring the HEART of health for people and the planet

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a world globe with two crossed bandaids

Doctor Aletha

In Memory of Dr. Jane Goodall.

On October 1, 2025 the Jane Goodall Institute announced her death. According to the Washington, D.C.-based institute, Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a U.S. speaking tour.

“Dr. Jane was known around the world for her 65-year study of wild chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania. However, in the latter part of her life she expanded her focus and became a global advocate for human rights, animal welfare, species and environmental protection, and many other crucial issues.”

Health lessons from Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King’s life reminds us of the  tragic effects of interpersonal violence; his mother, Alberta Williams King, also died violently.

 

updated January 15, 2022

The Reverend Dr. King led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.

His famous “I have a dream” speech, delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. is  remembered, read, and recited by people all over the country if not the world on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day every year.

The  United States observes the third Monday of January as a federal holiday in honor and memory of the birthday of the late Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929)

quote from Martin Luther King about hate

Dr. King’s life reminds us of the  tragic effects of interpersonal violence. His life ended suddenly and prematurely when, on April 4, 1968, an assailant shot him as he stood on a hotel balcony. He had delivered his last speech just the day before. The shooter was apprehended, and after confessing to the murder, sentenced to life in prison where he died.

Most people know of Dr. King’s assassination, but don’t know his mother, Alberta Williams King, also died violently. At age 69, sitting at the organ of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, Mrs. King was shot and killed on June 30, 1974. Her  23-year-old assailant received a life sentence and died in prison.

Violence, a major health risk

Violence between persons creates social, economic and political problems, and serious medical consequences. It is a leading cause of death, especially in children, adolescents and young adults.

Non-fatal injuries often cause severe and permanent disability that changes lives, burdens families and increases medical costs astronomically. These include

  • TBI, traumatic brain injuries
  • Spinal cord injuries leading to paraplegia, quadriplegia, ventilator dependence
  • Amputations of limbs
  • PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder; other forms of anxiety; depression
  • Chronic pain, often leading to opiate dependence

Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.
Dr. King

The risk of health disparities

This observance also reminds us of the problem of health disparity. Health disparities are

preventable differences in the burden of disease, injury, violence, or opportunities to achieve optimal health

that are experienced by populations that have been disadvantaged by their social or economic status, geographic location, and environment.

These populations can be defined by factors such as

  • race or ethnicity,
  • gender,
  • education or income,
  • disability,
  • geographic location (e.g., rural or urban),
  • sexual orientation.

Health disparities are directly related to the past and present  unequal distribution of social, political, economic, and environmental resources

This was especially true with the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC listed several reasons why this occurred.

  • There is evidence that people in racial and ethnic minority groups are more likely to live in areas with high rates of new COVID-19 infections (incidence).
  • Crowded living conditions and unstable housing contribute to transmission of infectious diseases and can hinder COVID-19 prevention strategies like hygiene measures, self-isolation, or self-quarantine.
  • Racial and ethnic minority groups are disproportionately represented in essential work settings such as healthcare facilities, farms, factories, warehouses, food processing, accommodation and food services, retail services, grocery stores, and public transportation.19,20,21,22 
  • Some people who work in these settings have more chances to be exposed to COVID-19 because -close contact with the public or other workers, not being able to work from home, and needing to work when sick because they do not have paid sick days.
  • Social determinants of health may also influence access to testing.
  • Underlying medical conditions that increase risk for severe illness from COVID-19 may be more common among people from racial and ethnic minority groups.19 Common underlying conditions among those who require mechanical ventilation or died included diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, chronic kidney disease on dialysis, and congestive heart failure. 20 
  • Together, the evidence from the provisional death data from NCHS and recent studies clearly illustrate the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 deaths among racial and ethnic minority groups, particularly Hispanic or Latino, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native people.

Long before COVID, doctors knew our Black patients fared worse with many common serious diseases

Learn Why 7 Deadly Diseases Strike Blacks Most  from WebMD

I have a dream over the image of Martin Luther King Jr.
photo by Ruel Calitis, Lightstock.com

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies,

education and culture for their minds,

and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.

Dr. King

You can learn more about Dr. King and listen to part of his famous speech at

Biography.com

"I have a dream" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Plaque honoring “I have a dream” speech by Dr. King , in Washington D.C. looking toward the Washington Monument

The following book suggestions lead to affiliate links which may pay a commission to this blog at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me fund this blog.

a biography about Dr. King written for children

I Am Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am Martin Luther King book

exploring the HEART of health equality

Thank you for joining me to remember the late Dr. King. Please enter your email address to be notified of new posts as soon as they are available, you won’t receive anything else.

Dr. Aletha

Dr. Aletha