Lulu Fleming: The Doctor Who Shared Jesus

Born into slavery in rural Florida, Louisa (Lulu) Fleming might have been the last person anyone expected to grow up and become a doctor. From birth, Lulu was told she wasn't worthy of dignity or respect because of the color of her skin.

This biographical picture book tells the story of Lulu Fleming whose grandfather was brought to America from the Congo and enslaved. When Lulu was released from slavery, she discovered Jesus taught that all people are worthy of respect and dignity. Narrated by a kind and curious cat, readers learn that Lulu became one of the first Black women to attend university in the United States, then decided she wanted to be a missionary to the country where her grandfather had been taken from: the Congo. She served as both a doctor and a teacher in the Congo, speaking against a regime and a culture that devalued people because of the color of their skin. Readers will be inspired by Lulu's bravery and drive to break barriers so she could love and share Jesus with others.

Lulu Fleming: The Doctor Who Shared Jesus is the fourth book in the Here I Am! biography series for kids ages four to eight, which highlights fascinating and faithful Christians in history. Also available: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Teacher Who Became a Spy, C. S. Lewis: The Writer Who Found Joy, and Lottie Moon: The Girl Who Reached the World.

Jasmine L. Holmes is a cohost of the TGC podcast Let's Talk and the author of Never Cast Out: How the Gospel Puts an End to the Story of Shame, Carved in Ebony: Lessons from the Black Women Who Shape Us and Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope. She is also a contributing author for World on Fire: Walking in the Wisdom of Christ When Everyone's Fighting about Everything, Identity Theft: Reclaiming the Truth of Our Identity in Christ, and His Testimonies, My Heritage: Women of Color on the Word of God. She and her husband Phillip are parenting their children in Jackson, Mississippi.