Documenting the African American Health Care Experience in Michigan: A Guide to Sources

Detroit Urban League health clinic, ca.1945 [Photograph courtesy of the Bentley Historical Library--University of Michigan]

Created by Renee McKinney and Nicholas Scalera for the University of Michigan Historical Center for the Health Sciences and funded by University of Michigan Hospitals.

Contents:

Multimedia exhibits highlighting various social and historical themes.

Other Internet resources relating to African Americans.

Bibliographies of printed materials on the African American health care experience.

Interviews with African Americans regarding their experiences in medicine and health care.

Introduction

Until the 1950s Detroit-area African Americans were systematically excluded from health care facilities on the basis of race. This page documents the African American health care experience in Southeastern Michigan from the early 20th Century through the present from the perspective of both the health care provider and the patient. It includes manuscript and archival resources associated with African American doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals. We have also made an attempt to document the institutions which trained African American health care providers and served the African American population of Southeastern Michigan.

Research at the Historical Center for the Health Sciences (HCHS) has uncovered an almost complete absence of published information relating to the African American experience with health care, health professions and the health sciences. HCHS believes that this gap is significant and should be addressed as soon as possible because of: 1) the imminent passing of a generation of African Americans with a knowlege of the segregated health care system; 2) significant economic and social changes which are the result of changes in the current health care system; 3) the need for role models for future generations of African American health care professionals; and 4) a need to document the unique contributions and experiences of African Americans in Michigan.

This page is the starting point for an exploration into the African American health care experience. It includes a list of archival and manuscript resources on the Michigan African American health care experience; a bibliography of secondary resources; a multimedia exhibit; and links to other Internet sites on African American history, politics and culture which may be of interest to you.