“Entering a White Profession: Black Physicians in the Turn-of-the-Century South” Lecture on Monday, October 22

The Medical History Interest Group invites you to attend Entering a White Profession: Black Physicians in the Turn-of-the-Century South presented by Todd Savitt, PhD, Professor, Bioethics and Interdisciplinary Studies, Brody School of Medicine. The lecture begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Evelyn Fike Laupus Gallery, 4th floor Laupus Library.

Following the Civil War, opportunities for former slaves to enter law, medicine, teaching and other professions increased greatly. Several medical schools graduated a number of African-American physicians in the late 19th century. These newly minted physicians then faced the problem of opening viable medical practices among people, white and black, who had never seen black physicians before. This illustrated talk describes the reactions of black patients, white patients, and white physicians to the emergence of black physicians in their communities.

Todd L. Savitt, PhD, is an historian who has written extensively on African American medical history, including topics such as slave health, black medical schools, sickle cell disease, and black physicians. He has taught at the University of Florida and, for the past 36 years, at the Brody School of Medicine, where he also served as Assistant Dean of Diversity for four years. He has also chaired the History of Medicine Grants Panel for the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health and served as Secretary/Treasurer of the American Association for the History of Medicine.

 

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

The lecture will also feature a pop-up display.

For directions and parking information, click here.

If you are on main campus, you can ride the 302 Bus from Mendenhall Student Center to the Allied Health Sciences Building. Here is the schedule for the 302.

Lectures may be video recorded.
Click here for the presentation schedule and an archive of our previous recordings.