Directory

Director, producer, and editor for the film Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change

Jayasri (Joyce) Hart produced, directed, and edited SISTERS OF SELMA in collaboration with her late husband writer William Hart and Prof. Emerita Carol Coburn of Avila University, KC. The film was supported by Alabama Public TV (Birmingham) and the Independent Television Service (PBS), aired nationwide, 2007 to 2011, received Regional Emmy nominations in 3 categories, and was in PBS Video distribution until acquired by Avila University.

Hart’s documentaries explore little known nuggets of history that have contemporary relevance. ROOTS IN THE SAND (2000), featuring a California immigrant community of men from India and women from Mexico, offers insights into U. S. naturalization. IN THE FOOTPRINTS OF FRANCIS & THE SULTAN (2013), the first known Middle East peacemaking effort by St. Francis of Assisi and Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil of Egypt, is in use as a vehicle for interfaith communication. Her current project OWN IT! LOUIS KELSO’S MACROECONOMIC FIX delves into the history of employee-owned companies in the Ohio River Valley to explore the risks and rewards of U.S. manufacturing.

Originally from India, where she made programs for All-India Radio and Doordarshan (Indian TV), she now lives and works in the Los Angeles area. 

Professor Emerita in Religious Studies and Women’s Studies at Avila University

Carol K. Coburn, Ph.D. is a Professor Emerita in Religious Studies and Women’s Studies at Avila University. She has published two books on American religious history and women’s history, including Spirited Lives: How Nuns Shaped Catholic Culture and American Life, 1836-1920. Researching on the topics of Catholic sisters, religious history, and peace and justice, Coburn has published numerous articles, essays, and book reviews, and presented over 40 papers at national and international venues. She also worked as a consultant for four documentary filmmakers on the topic of American sisters and social justice, including the exhibit: Women of Spirit: Catholic Sisters in America displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. As a historian consultant with Jayasri Hart on the PBS film Sisters of Selma: Bearing Witness for Change, she and Hart have collaborated for over 20 years on how best to access and preserve the Selma film and archival materials for scholars and educators to document the significant role Catholic sisters played in promoting and affirming racial justice over the last 60 years.

Sister Eugene Marie entered the Sisters of St. Mary (Now known as the Franciscan Sisters of Mary) on July 7, 1933. She was trained as a nurse and went on to teach nursing at St. Mary’s Infirmary in St. Louis and St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Kansas City. Sister Eugene Marie also served as the administrator of both St. Mary’s Infirmary in St. Louis and St. Mary’s Hospital in Kansas City. Sister Eugene Marie accompanied Sister Antona Ebo to Selma, Alabama on March 10, 1965 to participate in the civil rights march. Sister Eugene Marie Smith passed away on March 15, 2002

Sister Antona Ebo entered the Sisters of St. Mary (Now known as the Franciscan Sisters of Mary) on July 26, 1946, one of the first three African American Women to join the congregation. Sister Antona worked in medical records at several of the sister’s hospitals. In 1967, Sister Antona became the administrator of St. Clare Hospital in Baraboo, Wisconsin; the first African American woman to lead a Catholic hospital in the United States. Later, Sister Antona became a chaplain and was elected to the congregational leadership team in 1987.

On March 10, 1965. Sister Antona was the only African American sister to participate in the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama. Advocating for civil rights and social justice became a focus for the rest of her life. Sister Antona Ebo, passed away on November 11, 2017.

Sister Mary Leoline

Sister Mary Ann Theresa Sommer (1927–2006) was a dedicated educator, civil rights advocate, and member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM). Born on June 18, 1927, in Tarkio, Missouri, she earned a B.A. from Immaculate Heart College and an M.A. from Loyola University in Los Angeles. For 23 years, she served as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools across the United States.

Sister Mary Ann became a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. In March 1965, she was the only nun to complete the entire 54-mile Selma to Montgomery march alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her activism extended to testifying before Congress during the debate on the Voting Rights Act. Known for her courage and commitment to justice, Sister Mary Ann’s legacy is celebrated for her dedication to equality and education. She later worked with the Dioceses of Detroit and San Francisco before retiring to Salt Lake City, where she passed away on March 10, 2006.

Sister Eleanor

Sister Barbara Lum has dedicated her life to healthcare, education and community service as a Sister of St. Joseph of Rochester. Her journey began at Good Samaritan Hospital (1958-1968), where she played a vital role in providing medical care to patients of color from surrounding counties during a time when other hospitals denied treatment to Black patients. Most notably, she and her fellow sisters cared for civil rights activists who were injured during the historic Bloody Sunday voting rights march in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965.

Sister Barbara holds a BS in Nursing from Nazareth College of Rochester, and earned two Master’s degrees: an MS and Nurse Practitioner certification from the University of Rochester, and an MS in Maternal Child Nursing from the University of Pittsburgh. Her nursing career includes positions at the Good Samaritan School of Practical Nursing in Selma, Alabama; St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing in Elmira, NY; the University of Rochester; and the Rochester Educational Opportunity Center.

Currently, Sister Barbara resides at St. Boniface Convent in Rochester, where she lives in community with three other sisters and four college students. The convent hosts weeklong service programs for high school and college students throughout the year, fostering the next generation of community leaders.

Sister Barbara continues her ministry at St. Joseph’s Northside in Rochester, a drop-in center serving 40-60 guests daily. This Sisters of St. Joseph ministry provides hot breakfasts, essential supplies and a welcoming presence in a neighborhood challenged by substance abuse, mental illness and poverty.

Sister Josepha Twomey, a native of Auburn, NY, entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in 1952. Educated to serve as a teacher, she taught in several schools of the Rochester Diocese before being assigned to work with other Sisters of St. Joseph in the Edmundite Southern Missions in Selma, Alabama, in 1963.

As a teacher at St. Elizabeth’s School, Sister Josepha felt “privileged to observe close-up the two sides of poverty: the courageous perseverance of those dedicated to working for social justice and, on the other side, the quiet strength, the grace-filled dignity and long-suffering of those who from birth have been denied their ‘inalienable’ rights, whose lives are lived in poverty and yet whose faith and hope never fail them.” On Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1965), she and other Sisters from St. Elizabeth’s School rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital to help the nursing Sisters provide care for wounded civil rights marchers.

During later years of ministry in Rochester, Sister Josepha assisted migrant workers and provided care to the elderly. In 1978, she became the first woman to serve as a chaplain in a New York State maximum security prison for men, a role she found deeply meaningful. In her interactions with the men in her spiritual care, she “saw no criminals, didn’t care to know the crime.” Sister Josepha passed away in Rochester in 2021.

Sister Marie Albert Alderman entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in 1944. Although the SSJ were, at that time, primarily engaged in teaching, she longed to work as a missionary. Holding to the belief that, “if the Lord wants me to go, he will get me there,” she was overjoyed when she was selected to serve with other Sisters of St. Joseph in the Edmundite Southern Missions in Selma, Alabama.

Sister Marie Albert worked in Selma and surrounding areas for 17 years (1959-1963, 1967-1970, 1992-2002), first as a teacher at St. Elizabeth’s School and later as an outreach worker in Pine Apple and Vredenburgh. She liked to say she was sent to Alabama to educate children but became the one who was educated, learning much from her time living among poor Black families in the South.

In addition to her ministry in Alabama, Sister Marie Albert served in parishes of the Rochester Diocese, including 15 years as pastoral assistant at St. Mary’s Parish in Canandaigua, NY. Blessed with a deep prayer life, she lived for a year at the contemplative Poor Clare Monastery in New Orleans. Sister Marie Albert passed away at the SSJ Motherhouse in Rochester in 2016.

Sister Mary Weaver (originally, Sister Felicitas) entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester in 1952. She taught in Rochester parochial schools for ten years, then in 1964 was assigned to serve with other Sisters of St. Joseph in the Edmundite Southern Missions in Selma, Alabama – a life-changing experience for her. With only a short break for reasons of health, Sister Mary devoted the next 25 years of her life to work among the people of Selma.

During those years, she worked as community organizer for the Office of Economic Opportunity, pastoral assistant at St. Elizabeth’s Parish, Dallas County coordinator for service to the elderly, director of the Economic Opportunity Board, office manager for the Rural Health Medical Program, director of the Bosco Nutrition Center, and director of neighborhood services for the Community Action Agency. Always focused on bringing services to those in need, Sister Mary became known as “the lady that helps people.”

She returned to the SSJ Motherhouse in Rochester in 1992, where she managed the Congregation’s transportation office until she passed away in 2004. “My most prized years as a SSJ were spent in Selma,” Sister Mary said. “I was blessed with both the privilege and the hardship of witnessing the massive political and social change which marked my decades there.”

Sister Mary Paul Geck entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester, NY, in 1935, at age 17. Her first ministry was as a teacher, and then principal, in schools of the Rochester Diocese. In 1962, her work as an educator led her to the Edmundite Southern Missions in Selma, Alabama, where she served as principal of St. Elizabeth’s School and Superior of the convent, home to Sisters of St. Joseph who taught in the parish school and staffed Good Samaritan Hospital.

Sister Mary Paul was a fierce advocate for the Black families among whom she lived and worked. In a letter written in February 1965 to friends in Rochester, she expressed unflinching support for the civil rights movement: “The marches on the courthouse will continue, and must, until the unjust inequalities are rectified. This is the quiet determination of the people, and one with which we are in full agreement.” On Bloody Sunday (March 7, 1965), as marchers who had been beaten by state troopers were brought to Good Samaritan Hospital, Sister Mary Paul dispatched not only the nursing Sisters but also the teachers to respond to the emergency.

After returning to Rochester in 1968, Sister Mary Paul served as principal at diocesan schools. In 1975, she was appointed Secretary General of the Congregation, a position she held for 12 years. When asked about her experience in Selma, she spoke with quiet eloquence of the movement for justice in which she felt privileged to take part. Sister Mary Paul passed away in Rochester in 2014.

Sister Barbara Ann Moore was born in Memphis, Tennessee. She attended Rosati-Kain High School in St. Louis. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1955 and was received into the novitiate in 1956 as Sister Anne Benedict.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the College of St. Teresa, Kansas City (now Avila University) in 1962; and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of California, San Francisco in 1996. She earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1973. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1977. She received Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa in 2013 and Avila University in 2015.

For 50 years, Sister Barbara served in health care ministry and education, predominately nursing. In the 1960s, she worked at the old St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, as a staff nurse, head nurse, and nursing supervisor.

She taught nursing at Avila College for three years and after her studies in Seattle, she returned to Avila. She coordinated the BSN Program 1976-82 and chaired the Department of Nursing from 1982-1988 as Distinguished Hallmark Chair.

Sister Barbara brought her experience and education together by serving the dear neighbor in community health programs in Kansas City. She was the Program Coordinator of maternal child health at the Samuel U. Rodgers Comprehensive Community Health Center, 1988-98; and the Project Director for the Kansas City Healthy Start program at Heart of America United Way, 1998-92.

She served her CSJ community as a member of the Congregational Leadership Team, 2002-2008. After a brief sabbatical, she served as a nurse at Advance Medical Wellness Center in St. Louis.

Sister Barbara serves as a member of the Ascension Sponsor, the Ministerial Public Juridic Person for Ascension, the largest Catholic Health System in the country.

Sister Barbara retired in 2015 and continues to serve on several Boards and in a variety of volunteer and community service activities, including Mircrofinancing Partners in Africa which assists those in extreme poverty and Nia Kuumba, a spirituality center for women of African and African American descent. In particular, she is a well-known speaker on issues of race and justice, sharing her story as one of many religious who, 50 years ago, marched for civil rights in Selma, Alabama.

Sister Rosemary was born in Kansas City, MO. She was received into the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1948 as Sister Thomas Marguerite. She received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the College of St. Teresa in 1947, a master’s in philosophy from St. Louis University in 1956 and a doctorate in philosophy from St. Louis University in 1964.

Sister Rosemary served in education for 42 years of ministry. In 1950, she began teaching elementary education at St. Patrick Grade School in Denver, CO. That same year, she moved to St. Louis and taught at St. Leo Grade School for a year before teaching at St. Teresa of Avila Grade School until 1954.

Moving to secondary education, Sister Rosemary taught from 1954 until the early 60’s at the Academy of Our Lady/Spalding in Peoria, IL., Rosati-Kain in St. Louis, and St. Francis de Sales High School in Denver, CO. Then she became a full-time student, completing her doctorate in 1964. She transitioned to higher education serving as an administrative staff member and professor at Fontbonne College for four years and then moved to Kansas City, MO in 1968.

She taught at Avila College until 1973. For the next two years, Sister Rosemary taught at Longview Community College and St. Teresa Academy. She began 17 years of service at Rockhurst College in 1975, where she taught and periodically chaired the philosophy department.

In 1992, Sister Rosemary retired from Rockhurst and began 18 years at the Center for Practical Bioethics where she served as the director of the ethics development and education committee, as both ethics consultant and program consult. Sister Rosemary retired in 2010. Since 2022 she has resided at Nazareth Living Center in Oakville continuing to carry out her ministry of prayer and presence. She is especially proud of a lecture series which was established in her name by the joint boards of the Ethics Center and of St. Joseph Medical Center which annually addresses an ethics issue in health care delivery.

Sister Roberta Schmidt, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, was born on May 9, 1928, in Kansas City, Missouri, as the eldest of three daughters. Growing up in a devout Catholic family, she attended Redemptorist Parish School, where she first encountered the Sisters of St. Joseph, who would later inspire her vocation. After graduating from the College of St. Teresa (now Avila University) with degrees in philosophy and sociology, she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1949 as Sister Ernest Marie. Her early years in the community included teaching assignments in St. Louis-area schools, including St. Margaret of Scotland and St. Anthony’s, where she developed a passion for education and social justice.

Sister Roberta earned a master’s degree in sociology from St. Louis University in 1958 and a doctorate in 1964. She served as president of Fontbonne College from 1966 to 1972, during a time of significant social change, including the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. Her leadership at Fontbonne was marked by efforts to promote racial integration and address the challenges of the era. In 1965, she answered a call to join the Selma marches, an experience that she said strengthened her commitment to social justice and left a lasting impact on her life and ministry.

After her tenure at Fontbonne, Sister Roberta worked in higher education in San Antonio, Texas, and Cullman, Alabama, before serving as superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Atlanta and later as director of education for the Diocese of Venice, Florida. Throughout her career, she remained dedicated to Catholic education. Reflecting on her life, Sister Roberta expressed gratitude for the opportunities to serve the Church and the community. She passed away on January 2, 2019.