Achievers Of African Descent In Medicine
Papan's medical knowledge gave us some cures for skin diseases. Papan's contribution
was a benefit to all mankind. Papan developed his medical skills from his master,
who was a doctor. Papan was rewarded for his skills and medical discovery by the
Virginia legislature. In 1729, the State of Virginia declared him a free man.
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DLucas
Santomee was one of the earliest black doctors in America. Dr. Santomee studied
in Holland. He was rewarded for his outstanding work by Governor Nichols, of New
York City, with a gift of land..
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Mabel Keaton Staupers was born in Barbados, West Indies, in 1890. In 1917 she graduated
from Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing in Washington, D.C. and went on to work
as a private duty nurse in New York. Staupers helped black women nurses get into
the mainstream of American nursing. Her courage and devotion helped them to achieve
equal rights. Through her efforts, black nurses became a part of the national limelight.
She also helped to integrate black nurses into the Armed Forces and the American
Nurses Association. From 1934 to 1946 Mabel Keaton Staupers was executive secretary
of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses, NACGN. She organized the
Booker T. Washington Sanatorium, which became the first medical facility in the
Harlem area where black doctors could treat their patients. For twelve years she
was the executive secretary of the Harlem Committee of the New York Tuberculosis
and Health Association. In 1951 Staupers was the recipient of the Springarn Medal,
an award for the outstanding woman leader of the century.
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In
1721, Onesimus, a Negro slave, made an important contribution to medicine by introducing
inoculation. Because of Onesimus' intelligence, small pox was given proper preventative
treatment, and developed less in the early colonies The art of inoculation came
from Africa. Onesimus hadsurgery in Africa which kept him from getting the smallpox.
(This was a known operation procedure used by the Guaramantes.) Onesimus explained
his operation to Mather,who at this time was his master, and revealed to him his
scar and the concept of inoculation was introduced to America. The procedure of
inoculation was used in the Revolutionary Army. Without this medical practice, the
war may have had many deaths due to small pox. Born in Africa, Onesimus was a slave
of Cotton Mather, a Puritan minister in Boston. When a smallpox epidemic broke out
in Boston in 1721, Onesimus informed his master about an inoculation procedure practiced
in Africa. The centuries-old practice was practiced throughout Africa and involved
the extraction of material from the pustule of an infected person and, using a thorn,
scratching it into the skin of the unaffected person. The deliberate introduction
of smallpox gives the inoculated person immunity from the disease. In some cases,
there is no reaction while a mild non-fatal form of the disease may occur in others.
Although inoculation was considered to be extremely dangerous, Cotton Mather was
steadfast in accepting the reliability of the information provided by Onesimus,
and convinced Dr. Zabdiel Boylston to experiment with the procedure. Beginning with
his son and two slaves, he inoculated over 240 people. The process of inoculation
was politically, medically and religiously opposed in
the
United States and Europe. In religious circles, it was deemed unnatural and perceived
as subverting God's will. Public reaction to the experiment was so adverse that
both Mather and Boylston's lives were threatened. Records indicate that the inoculation
process itself killed 2 percent of the patients who requested it, while 15 percent
of the people who contracted the disease and were not inoculated died from the virus.
Onesimus' recollection of a traditional African medical practice saved numerous
lives and sparked the introduction of smallpox inoculation in the United States.
Traditional African medicine is a holistic science that incorporates considerable
use of indigenous herbalism with elements of African spirituality. Illness is not
seen as a purely physical problem; it can also be attributed to spiritual causes
engendered by displeasing the spirits – ancestors or gods. Traditional healers apply
scientific and non-scientific methods. The scientific methods involve the prescription
of herbal medicines, which have proven to be just as efficient and also provided
the basis for Western medicines. For example, kaolin, the active ingredient in Kaopectate,
has always been used to treat diarrhea in Mali; the bark of trees which yield salicylic
acid, the active ingredient in aspirin, has been prescribed by Bantu-speaking healers
to cure musculoskeletal diseases. The non-scientific methods involve the appeasement
or expulsion of the spirit(s) responsible for the patient's bad health. The social
and psychological effects of these methods were highly successful. As in the case
of psychotherapy, medication and the power of suggestion were used by traditional
healers to treat the whole person. »
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During the World War Black
women first turned to the American Red Cross. At this stage of the war the American
Red Cross organization had eight million women working in the services. The number
of Black women enlisted by the Red Cross is not known because the Red Cross enrolled
workers regardless of color, race or creed. No accurate records were kept of auxiliary
work. In some areas of the North, Black and White women worked together. In the
South, Black women had their own Black auxiliaries. This was also true for some
Northern cities. In some cities, Black women weren't permitted to work at the soldiers'
canteens. So, they provided services for Black troop trains passing through
Chicago
. In June, 1918 Black nurses were fully allowed to participate in medical
services
to Black troops. At this time hundreds were dispatched to camps. The Red Cross Nursing
Division continued to do recruiting for nurses to provide services in military hospitals
Black nurses played a vital role in the success of this organization
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Dr.
Gray was born in 1867 in Clarksville, Tennessee, but received most of her education
in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was in Cincinnati that she established her first dental
practice. Dr. Gray received a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the University
of Michigan in 1890, becoming the first black woman in the United States to hold
this degree. Dr. Gray moved to Chicago, and in 1895 became its first female dentist.
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Dr. Samuel L. Kountz was born
in Arkansas. He graduated in
Mechanical and Normal College of Arkansas. Later he completed his graduate studies
and earned Masters Degreee at University of Arkansas. He was the first black to
become a student at the University of Arkansas Medical School. Dr. Kountz was a
leader in kidney transplant surgery He performed more than 500 kidney transplants.
His major medical milestone was the transplant of a kidney from a mother to a daughter.
When the kidney is taken from the
body of the donor there is often a lapse of several hours before it can be transplanted
into the receiving person. Dr. Kountz helped to develop the prototype of a machine
that can preserve the kidney up to 50 hours. He also discovered that the drug methylprednisolone
is useful to help reserve the acute rejection of a transplanted kidney.
At the age of eight, Dr. Kountz, the son of a Baptist minister,
decided to become a doctor. He flunked the entrance exam at Arkansas AM&N College
in his home state. However, he was determined to go to college and appealed to the
college president, who gave him another chance. To show his appreciation, Kountz
earned A's and B's. Kountz received a Bachelor of Science from Arkansas Mecahnical
and Normal College [now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff] in 1952. He obtained
a master's degree in Biochemistry at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; later,
he was one of the first African Americans admitted to its medical school (University
of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock -- 1958). Following graduation, he
served as an intern at San Francisco County Hospital.
Dr. Kountz served as an Associate Professor of Surgery
at Stanford University from 1965 to 1967. From 1967 to 1970 Dr. Kountz served as
Associate Professor at the University of California. He was appointed Professor
of Surgery and Chairman of the Department at the State University of New York (SUNY),
Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York beginning in 1972. Dr. Kountz served
as Surgeon-in-Chief of Kings County Hospital. As an authority on kidney transportation,
he performed an operation on the NBCToday Show.
Dr. Samuel L. Kountz participated in the first West Coast
kidney transplant in 1959. Prior to the development of Kountz's technique of detecting
and treating rejection of transplanted kidneys, less than five per cent of the transplant
patients survived for more than two years.
It took three years of experimentation with dogs in London
and the United States to develop the technique. While in London on a surgery fellowship,
Dr. Kountz discovered that committed cells of the host attacked and destroyed the
small blood vessels of the transplanted kidney, thus causing the kidney to die from
lack of blood supplied oxygen. The technique he and his associates at Stanford Medical
School developed permits doctors to watch the fall of the kidney blood supply following
surgery and to administer specific amounts of drugs to the patient at carefully
timed intervals to overcome the rejection process.
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Mary Eliza Mahoney - Registered Nurse
Mary
Eliza Mahoney was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. She became the first Black trained
nurse in the United States, graduating from the New England Hospital for Women and
Children in 1870. Mary's training was not easy Out of her nursing class of 18 trainees,
only four students received their diploma and Mary Eliza Mahoney was one of them.
Mary's training included medical, surgical, maternity and private duty lectures
and instructions by doctors. Mary not only had to endure hard studies, but also
had the pressure of discrimination. In spite of it all, she had an excellent grade
record. She was the leader who opened doors for other Black nurses, working for
many years as a private duty nurse. Mary was a member of The National Association
of Colored Graduate Nurses, where she served as Chaplain and had a life membership.
She served with the New England Hospital Alumnae Association, supported women's
suffrage, and was the first Black woman registered to vote in Boston. For her remarkable
achievements in nursing, The National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses established
The Mary Mahoney Award. This award is given in her honor by The American Nurses
Association, for vital contributions to intergroup relations. These women are unique
in the medical profession. They are achievers whose innovations, skills and characters
have made many contributions to our country. .» Top
In
1897 Mathilda A. Evans graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.
During the course of her career, she founded the Negro Health Association of South
Carolina, three clinics, and two hospitals. The first black woman to practice medicine
in South Carolina was Mathilda A. Evans. » Top
Dr.
Jones has made many great accomplishments in medicine. She was the first Black to
enroll in a medical program at the University of Arkansas Medical School. (In 1948
Blacks weren't enrolling in southern all-white medical programs.) In 1982 Dr. Jones'
foreign travels took her to China where she studied health care. While in China,
as a representative, she lectured for the American Internal Medicine
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Dr.
John V. DeGrasse was born in 1825 in New York City He was educated at Bowdoin College
He was in Europe in 1849 and had the opportunity to visit many hospitals there.
Dr. DeGrasse was on staff of the United States Army Medical Corps. Among his other
achievements was a special award a gold-handled sword for his service during the
war. He was also elected to the Massachusetts Medical Society » Top
Dr. Martin R. Delaney
Dr
Delaney did his medical study training at Harvard University Medical School. He
had a medical practice in Pittsburgh helped to stop a cholera epidemic. Dr. Delaney
was a medical officer in the Civil War. He was an author and was also active in
politics. Had a successful practice in the German community of New York City. Could
speak the German language very fluently in 1820. » Top
Dr.
Howard specialized in the treatment of small-pox. He was born in 1846. He received
his education and graduated from Harvard Medical School. He was one of the founders
of the Mercy Frederick Douglas Hospital in Philadelphia. .» Top
Dr.
Ray had an excellent medical practice in the German community of New York City.
He held this position for fifty years. He spoke German very well a well-accepted
doctor, liked by many people. Most of his patients were white sick individuals.
Dr. Peter W. Ray was born in 1820. He was a member of the New York Medical Society
and graduate of Bowdoin College. .»
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Ella Stewart was born on March 6, 1893 in Berryville, Virginia. Dr. Stewart was
an outstanding student and civic leader. She attended Storer College in West Virginia
where she won five major scholarships Then while working as a bookkeeper in a drugstore,
Mrs. Stewart was encouraged by a friend to attend pharmacy school. Dr. Stewart's
achievements are numerous:
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She was the oldest living Black woman
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She became the first black woman to at tend pharmacy school in Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh
University of Pharmacy
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In recent years Mrs. Stewart owned two drugstores. .»
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Dr.
Brown was born in 1919. Until the age of 12 she was raised in an orphanage. Dr.
Brown has the honor of being the first black woman to become Surgeon General in
the south. In 1930 she was given recognition in the Columbia, South Carolina, newspaper
as a "noted physician and surgeon, humanitarian and outstanding citizen." In Nashville,
Tennessee, at Riverside Hospital, Dr. Brown is the Chief of Surgery. She is a fellow
of the American College of Surgeons and serves as a clinical professor of surgery
at Meharry Medical College. Dr. Brown's interest and talents extend far beyond her
medical field. She became the first black woman to serve in the Tennessee State
Legislature and has worked in many public interest groups and served on the State
Youth
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Dr.
Daniel Hale Williams was born in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania Dr. Williams was the
first to lead the medical field in open heart surgery. On July 10, 1893, he performed
emergency surgery on a patient with a knife wound in an artery close to the heart.
This surgery was very successful and a victory in the pages of medical history.
Among Dr. Williams' other achievements was the building of hospitals and training
schools for doctors and nurses. One of those hospitals, which he founded, is Provident
Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Williams was the only black original member of
the American College of Surgeons. In 1883 he was graduated from Chicago Medical
College with his M.D. Degree.
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Dorothy
Boulding Ferebee had a very long distinguished career in the medical profession.
Her interest in the medical field was sparked during her early childhood. With family
support, hard work, and determination, she became a great achiever in medicine.
In 1927 Dr. Ferebee graduated with honors from Tufts Medical School. She soon began
her own medical practice She was a professor at Howard University School of Medicine
and was in charge of student health services at Howard University. She also directed
a health care project for Black sharecroppers in Mississippi Some of her other outstanding
achievements include founder of a settlement house in Washington, D.C., and president
of the National Council of Negro Women She will be remembered for her valiant contributions
in medicine, civic and social affairs. Born in either 1889 or 1890 in Norfolk, Virginia,
Dorothy Boulding became a pioneer in medicine in the early years of America's conception.
Her mother, Florence Ruffin Boulding, or Cornelia Paige Boulding, whichever source
is correct, married her father, Benjamin Richard, before her birth. Her mother's
brother was the first Black graduate of Harvard Law School, who later became the
first Black judge in Massachusetts, George Lewis Ruffin. It was clear to the people
in Dorothy's early years that she had a knack for healing. She often gathered injured
birds or animals to care for while her childhood friends were out playing with each
other or toys. "I would nurse and help the birds that fell out of trees, the dog
that lost a fight. My grandmother would say, "Do you need water, dolly?" and then
say to mother, "She's going to make a fine doctor. They weren't professional women
but they gave me marvelous encouragement" (Washington Post, May 15, 1978). This
encouragement gave her courage to face the oppression that occurred during her lifetime.
The role models around her certainly helped: Ferebee's paternal grandparents were
former slaves, her uncle George Ruffin, and her great aunt Josephine Ruffin was
president of the Woman's Era Club, as well as the seven other professional lawyers
in her family. Ferebee's academic and medical careers were very distinguished. She
commenced her education at Armstrong Grammar School, then graduated from English
High School in Boston, Massachusetts, "with the highest honors in a class of 329"
(Smith, 1992, p. 340). She then attended and graduat ed from Simmons College in
Boston, moving on to Tufts Medical School, graduating in 1924 with honors as well
as the title Class Historian, only 3 years after the first Black woman entered Tufts
University. In medical school, she was also elected to membership in Zeta Phi, an
honorary medical society for women. Little is recorded in biographies and other
references about Ferebee's early life, and one can only speculate as to why. Education
was not easy in the days when Ferebee pushed her way through medical school. Women
did not have equal status with men on a majority of college campuses. Harvard University
had a "backstreet" schooling for women--they had no permanent buildings, had access
to library resources only at night, and were required to pay fees to enter the classrooms.
And at Tufts University, were Ferebee would eventually be admitted, women began
attending in 1892; then enrollment dropped in protest. Some colleges prohibited
women altogether, such as Wesleyan University (Sadker and Sadker, 1 994, pp.24).
A February 1948 Ebony article used women doctors such as Dorothy Ferebee, E. Mae
Carroll, and Constance Yerwood as models for continuing Black female medical training.
Even then, women still encountered oppression: "Even [admission] represented a concession;
most male MD's said women lacked 'virile courage, moral sense, rational judgment'...[And]
admissions officials shrug: "Girls just get married, waste their education'"(Ebony,
February 1948). .» Top
Dr.
James Derham was the first black physician in the United States. He was born in
1762 in Philadelphia. Dr. Derham was a very skillful doctor in New Orleans. His
expertise was in acute and epidemic diseases. Dr. Derham acquired his medical knowledge
during slavery. He was a slave who was trained by several noted physicians. Dr.
Dove was one of these physicians. He used Dr. Derham as an assistant. He also helped
James Derham get his freedom in 1783. In. Dr. Derham's medical practice, he had
black and white patients. A great doctor during his time, Dr. James Derham earned
$3,000 to $4,000 a year, and this was considered a large salary for those days!
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