This session will explore the narratives of early black physicians and dentists to include some of the barriers they faced to become physicians and dentists, their training, their clinical practices, their involvement in the abolitionist movement and Civil War, and efforts to establish hospitals and training schools for African Americans.  

Required Readings:

Herbert M. Morais. The History of the Negro in Medicine (New   York, NY: Publishers Company, Inc., 1969), pp. 1-6, 21-38, 59-74.

Thomas J. Ward, Jr. Chapter 1, “The rise and fall of Black medical colleges.” In: Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (Fayetteville, AR: Univ of Arkansas, 2003), pp. 3-30.

Clifton O. Dummett. Chapter 1, “The beginnings of dentistry Among Negroes.” In: The Growth and Development of the Negro in Dentistry in the United   States (Chicago, IL: National Dental Association, 1952), pp. 1-12.

National Library of Medicine: Binding the Wounds: African American Health Professionals in the Civil War; http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/bindingwounds/exhibition.html

Optional reading:

Todd Savitt. Abraham Flexner and the Black Medical School. In: Beyond Flexner. Edit B Barzansky and N Gevitz.  New York: Greenwood Press, pp. 65-81.

Questions:

1. Who were some of the early pioneer African American physicians?
2. Why were they often associated with the abolitionist movement?
3. What was their training? Was this type of training typical for most physicians in the 19^th century?
4. Did African American physicians and nurses contribute to the Civil War?  How?
5. When did the first African American graduate from a recognized (allopathic) medical school?
6. What were the early Black medical schools and who founded them? Why were they established?
7. What was the impact of the Flexner Report on Black medical schools? Did the Flexner Report also impact the number and training of Black physicians in this country?
8. Who were some of the early pioneer African American dentists?
9. What was their training? Was this type of training typical for most dentists in the 19^th century?
10. When did the first African American graduate from a recognized (allopathic) dental school?
11. When and why were dental schools established for Black students?