Hero of the Week 93

 Welcome back viewers

This week's hero is...

Rebecca Lee Crumpler 

Rebecca Lee Crumpler (born Rebecca Davis) was born in Delaware on February 8, 1831. Unlike many African-Americans in the state of Delaware, she was born and raised as a free woman. Due to her family's poor state of living, Rebecca was sent to live with an aunt in Pennsylvania. Little did she know, that she would soon find her calling and was destined to break barriers.

Rebecca's aunt volunteered to provide care for sick neighbors who could not afford medical treatment. This inspired the young girl to pursue a career in the medical field. In 1852, Rebecca moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts where she intended to study medicine. For the next eight years, she worked as a volunteer nurse around the city before being admitted to the New England Female Medical College. 

Despite facing much prejudice from her teachers and fellow students, Rebecca successfully graduated in 1864 with MD (Doctor of Medicine) degree. At the time of her graduation there were only 300 female physicians in the whole country. She was the very first black woman to ever become one in the United States at that time. 

A year later, the US Congress passed the 13th Amendment which officially abolished slavery in the United States. Four months later, the American Civil War came to an end. With the abolishment of slavery and the ending conflict, Rebecca decided to travel down to Richmond, Virginia (with her family) and joined the Freedman's Bureau for the State of Virginia, which was assisting former slaves in adjusting from their lives in bondage.

Despite facing a constant barrage of racism, sexism, horrible threats from around the city (even her own colleagues) Rebecca successfully treated hundreds of freedmen and enabled many to find productive lives during the Reconstruction Period. By 1870, Rebecca returned to Boston and moved to the town of Hyde Park where she continued to privately practice medicine. In 1883, she made history again when she published, A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts. This book contained all that she had learned about human growth and early symptoms of diseases (especially in women and young children). It was the very first medical publication ever written by black woman. Rebecca dedicated it to "mothers, young nurses, and all who may desire to mitigate the afflictions of the human race".

Rebecca Lee Crumpler passed away on March 9, 1895, at the age of 64. Like many African-Americans from the 19th and 20th centuries, her legacy was nearly forgotten for many years. She and her husband (Arthur Crumpler) laid in unmarked graves until July 16, 2020. The house where she lived is now preserved on Boston Women's Heritage Trail. Today, she is considered to be a pioneer in both the medical field and the fight for equal rights. She is definitely someone to be held in high regard.

https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/biography_73.html

https://daily.jstor.org/the-doctress-was-in-rebecca-lee-crumpler/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/celebrating-rebecca-lee-crumpler-first-african-american-physician

https://bwht.org/beacon-hill/

http://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/rebecca-lee-crumpler-first-black-female-physician-gets-gravestone-130-after-death/