Women of the Movement: Uncovering the Transformation of Black Medical Professionals in the 20th Century
Presentation Type
Poster
Release Option
Event
Description
.
Abstract
In the early 20th century, racial segregation between Black and white communities prevented African Americans from accessing affordable health care. Predominantly white hospitals denied access to black patients. In most places, black physicians did not have the privileges necessary to practice on Black patients, resulting in higher infant mortality rates, diabetes, and heart diseases. During this period, Black women played a pivotal role in redefining politics, education, and the professional fields. Their contributions to the medical field, in particular, were critical in providing affordable and equal access to healthcare to Black men and women. To this day, their contributions remain understudied. Using oral histories of elderly African American women who worked in the health professions from the 1920s to the 1960s, my poster explores how their roles as medical professionals have shaped their identities as mothers, wives, and women of color. It will primarily focus on how they navigated unequal training and the hardships of establishing their private practices; how they affirmed their professional and voluntary commitment to improving the lives of their communities and medicine; and how they became members of the civil rights movement to ensure equal treatment for all people of color, especially women in the movement.
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Julie de Chantal
Department of Primary Presenter's Major
Department of History
Location
Lobby
Symposium Year
2023
Women of the Movement: Uncovering the Transformation of Black Medical Professionals in the 20th Century
Lobby
In the early 20th century, racial segregation between Black and white communities prevented African Americans from accessing affordable health care. Predominantly white hospitals denied access to black patients. In most places, black physicians did not have the privileges necessary to practice on Black patients, resulting in higher infant mortality rates, diabetes, and heart diseases. During this period, Black women played a pivotal role in redefining politics, education, and the professional fields. Their contributions to the medical field, in particular, were critical in providing affordable and equal access to healthcare to Black men and women. To this day, their contributions remain understudied. Using oral histories of elderly African American women who worked in the health professions from the 1920s to the 1960s, my poster explores how their roles as medical professionals have shaped their identities as mothers, wives, and women of color. It will primarily focus on how they navigated unequal training and the hardships of establishing their private practices; how they affirmed their professional and voluntary commitment to improving the lives of their communities and medicine; and how they became members of the civil rights movement to ensure equal treatment for all people of color, especially women in the movement.
