Black Health Matters Celebrates Black History Month: Great Innovators Of Medicine

February is Black History Month, an annual tradition that began in the summer of 1915. A celebration of the 50th emancipation anniversary of Illinois and the massive turnout started the idea turning in the mind of Carter G. Woodson. Over a century later, it’s an important and beloved part of American culture.

Black Health Matters embraces Carter Woodson’s vision and celebrates the massive contributions that black leaders have made to the progression of medical science. This is the time to honor the pioneers, professionals, and visionaries who opened doors and created opportunities in the world of health. Join us here throughout the month of February as we do just that.

Black Health Matters Honors…

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett

The biggest medical issue in decades occurred in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe. Thanks to the hard work of medical professionals, we learned how to combat this virus and reopen the doors that had remained locked for so long.

Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett played a pivotal role in helping the world heal. Working with the Vaccine Research Center, she developed vaccines to prevent the virus from spreading. It was her team’s high-profile work that put them on the map, but Dr. Corbett has been a major part of vaccine research and creation. She is one of the true heroes of the modern-day medical world.

“Today, people will get vaccinated with a vaccine that I woke up on Jan. 11th to frantically help design.” – Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett 

Born in 1864, Dr. Eliza Grier may have been born after the Emancipation Proclamation, but she was still considered a slave as her home of Meclenburg County was in a section of North Carolina not occupied by the Union Army. It wasn’t until the war ended that she was officially emancipated.

Dr. Grier is a true case of putting your feet forward to make a change. While struggling to pay for school, she penned a letter to the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1890 and asked whether some sort of assistance “might be provided for an emancipated slave to receive any help into so lofty a profession”. In 1893, she was welcomed into the college and worked to support herself until her graduation.

In 1897, Dr. Grier graduated and moved to Georgia, where she applied for and received her license to practice medicine in Fulton County. With that document, she became the first African-American woman to receive a Georgia medical license, shattering glass ceilings that felt more like concrete at the time. Eliza Grier went on to start a successful private practice in Atlanta, where she specialized in obstetrics and gynecology.

“I went to Philadelphia, studied medicine hard, procured my degree, and have come back to Atlanta, where I have lived all my life, to practice my profession. Some of the best white doctors in the city have welcomed me, and say that they will give me an even chance in the profession. That is all I ask.” – Dr. Eliza Grier