The Unsung Stories of 3 Pioneering Black Female Doctors

Jasmine Brown is still in medical school at the University of Pennsylvania, but she has already published a book about medicine: Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the 21st Century. It’s the culmination of research she started while a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. She noticed a lack of literature on Black female doctors, and was immediately struck by an oral history by Dr. May Chinn, one of Harlem’s first Black female doctors. Chinn’s story resonated with Brown, who, despite being the daughter of engineers, was often discouraged from pursuing a career in science. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “Growing up, people were telling me I’m not good enough—like I’m Black so that means I’m not smart and I won’t do well in school,” Brown says. “Recognizing how powerful it was for me to learn about these women, I wanted to give that hope to other Black girls, other Black people— really anybody who has been told for some reason that they’re not capable.” Below are three pioneering Black female doctors profiled in Brown’s book. Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler Crumpler is considered the first Black woman physician in the U.S. She started out as a nurse but physicians she worked with encouraged her to go to medical school and wrote her recommendation letters. She graduated from the New England Female Medical College (now...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Books News Team Source Type: news