Wicked Local The Rev. Barbara Simmons is a church pastor; Vedna Heywood is a trauma nurse - both Black women say they are reluctant teachers as well. Sisters of the South, Simmons and Heywood made their way north to Massachusetts in vastly different eras, but both have encountered racism that they say they cannot ignore or let go unnoticed and unmentioned. It can be a burden at times, like when they’re running errands or just going about their jobs, but Simmons and Heywood don’t hesitate to teach people the error of biased ways. “No matter what occupation we’re in, we have to constantly teach in addition to the job we have to do. It’s just a constant, teaching all the time, and it kind of wears you down,” said Simmons, who has been pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Plymouth for 17 years.