Rebecca Lee Crumpler is a woman that history knows little of other than her degree and the little she wrote about herself in the beginning of a book. What makes this woman so important to history, and so important to me, is that Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first African-American woman to earn an M.D. degree in the United States, and one of the first African Americans to write a book of medical advice.
Crumpler, born in Delaware in 1831, was raised by her aunt in Pennsylvania. Crumpler’s aunt was a woman who spent much of her time caring for sick neighbors and friends. In the beginning of her book, A Book of Medical Discourses, she explained that being surrounded by the work of her aunt is what made her form a liking to relieving the suffering of others, which is what pushed her to go into medicine. Crumpler became a nurse, a profession that did not require formal education in that time, and cared for patients in Massachusetts for eight years. She was eventually admitted to the New England Female Medical college in 1860, and graduated in 1864. She was the first and only African American to graduate the school due to it closing in 1873.
Crumpler practiced medicine in Boston until the end of the Civil War, after which she chose to move to Richmond, Virginia. Virginia was where she believed she would be able to help more people and learn more about the diseases that afflicted women and children. Working closely with the Freedmen’s Bureau and other African American physicians,
Anita Florence Hemmings was the first known African American to graduate from aristocratic Vassar College forty years before the college opened its door to African Americans in1897. She was sent by her Boston parents who were both bi-racial and identified as ‘mulattoes’ off to Vassar College as a white girl. This was the only way black girls could go to exclusive and aristocratic college. There she quickly establishes herself as an exceptional student mastering Latin, Ancient Greek, and French. In addition to her academic achievements, Anita had another qualification, she looked white.
One of the major effects of Elizabeth Blackwell’s life and career was Mary Donaldson. Mary Donaldson was a good friend of Elizabeth Blackwell’s. She encouraged Blackwell to become a doctor because she knew that Blackwell had an interest in science and medicine (Somervill 28-29). Mary Donaldson also knew that Blackwell had a bright mind and would do very well as a doctor. She wanted Blackwell to become a doctor very much: “You are fond of the study, have health and leisure; why not study medicine?”
“Your time to shine has arrived Jones.” “I appreciate it so much Chief, I promise you there is no way in which I can let you down.” “We already discuss it with the board, we trust you Jones. We analyzed your whole record history, starting four years ago when you were first recruited to this Secrete Teen Agent Institution. You are now one of our top agents, and definitely the perfect match for this important mission.
Imagine growing up on a cotton plantation to former slaves in Delta, becoming an “orphan at the age of 7, becoming a wife at the age of 14, a mother at 17 and a widow at 20?” This all describes the early life of Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madam C.J Walker. “She supported her family by washing laundry and she used her earning as a laundress to pay for her daughter’s education at Knoxville College” .In 1889, Madam C.J Walker moved to St. Louis in search of a better future.
Margaret Sanger Margaret Sanger, a feminist social reformer, argued that “women cannot be on equal footing with men until they have complete control over their reproductive functions”. Her argument improved our everyday life by providing more information on contraceptives, giving women the power to control their bodies, and changing the role of women and men. Margaret Sanger was determined and dedicated to provide women with information about contraceptives which eventually improved the lives of many women. During the Progressive Era, women had gained a lot more interest in becoming independent by working and improving their education.
Deborah states, "Truth be told, I can 't get mad at science because it help people live, and I 'd be a mess without it. I 'm a walking drugstore! I can 't say nuthin bad about science, but I won 't lie, I would like some health insurance so I don 't got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother cells probably helped make". This explains how Deborah has to spend all her money on not even all her medication because she can 't even afford health insurance that will cover her medicine. African Americans who were
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.
Have you ever heard of the first African-American woman to go to college, get a B.A, become a teacher then a principal(no, I am not talking about the principal Mrs. Brown) I 'm talking about Mary Jane Patterson. She was born September 24, 1840 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mary 's parents, Eliza Patterson and Henry Irving were runaway slaves that managed to take care of four kids (Mary, John,Emma and Chanie ann). In 1852, Patterson 's family left Raleigh and moved to Oberlin , Ohio because they wanted their children to go to college.
Dr. Bartholomew Fussell was a Quaker who grew up in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He had six children and lived from 1794 to 1871. As an adult, he studied medicine and taught at a Sabbath school for African Americans, on occasion teaching over eighty students. He was one of the brave people who made their homes part of the underground railroad. Sometimes, he would see one of his old students, and shelter them with other runaway slaves he assisted.
Sarah Breedlove, also known as Madam C.J. Walker, born on December twenty-third of eighteen sixty-seven in Delta, Louisiana. Sarah Breedlove is to be considered lucky as to which she was the first child in her family to be a “free-born” from slavery once her parents were allowed to leave. She lived a tragedy at such an early age of seven with the withdrawal of her parents’ lives in this world. Sarah was then later in the custody of her older sister.
During a time of racism and segregation Rebecca Lee Crumpler doubted many people by becoming one of the first African American woman physician. Her journey to become a physician was challenging as she was doubted, had no support from her peers but she was determined to prove people wrong. At a young age, Crumpler faced many doubters, as many black females either became slaves or housewives; she followed her aunt’s footsteps and began to study medicine. During her time in medical school she was faced with many challenges by her follow peers, racism and hypercritical attitudes from her peers made her determined to look pass their judgment and pursue her dream of becoming a doctor, “the prejudice that prevented African Americans from pursuing careers in medicine to become the first African American woman in the United States to earn an M.D. degree" ("Changing the Face of Medicine | Rebecca Lee Crumpler."). She faced challenges head on and did not fail to prove people wrong, "It was a significant achievement at the time because she was in the first generation of women of color to break into medical school, fight racism and sexism" (Gray).
Treichler starts off her article by grabbing the attention of the reader adequately by presenting the controversial ideas of improper diagnosis by a domineering husband taking advantage of the time periods stereotype of hysterical women. She then persuasively depicts the setting of the story and adds some sympathy for the narrator who is being forced to accept her diagnosis. The introduction she gives is excellent because it provides the background information to the story and adequately prepares the points that she wants to get across to the
Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.
General Purpose: To Inform Specific purpose: To explain the life of Dr. Dorothy Height. Central Idea: The amazing Dorothy Height endured a challenging and difficult childhood and adulthood filled full of struggles, but she never allowed any of these adversities to hinder her from accomplishing remarkable achievements throughout her lifetime. INTRODUCTION I. Attention Material A. “When you worry about who to give credit to; you get little done” was quoted by Dorothy Height 1.
Her tragedy reflects not only the sexism in the African American families in early 20th century, but also the uselessness