Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman in America to earn a degree as a medical doctor. Hospitals and pharmacies shunned her, but she persevered, bringing critical medical knowledge to poor communities. Here's her story. #BlackHistoryMonth 
Rebecca entered medical school around the outbreak of the civil war, and graduated to become the only Black woman out of America's 54,543 known doctors. It's likely that during her life she never knew that she was America's first Black female doctor. pbs.org/newshour/healt….
She moved to Virginia and found “the proper field for real missionary work," caring for "the least of these" by helping the Freedman’s Bureau assist over four million formerly-enslaved Americans make the transition to a free life.
Dr. Crumpler treated women and children regardless of their ability to pay, and published the groundbreaking "A Book of Medical Discourses," on women’s health. nytimes.com/2021/07/16/obi…
She was buried in an unmarked grave. But today, she is rightly recognized as one of the mothers of American medicine.
Today, Black women still account for less than 3% of U.S. doctors. We still have more to do. But 150 years ago Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler blazed a trail to follow.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
