Black History Month in the U.S. is well under way with the legacy of health and wellness change-makers and risk-takers being celebrated. Their far-reaching contributions and transformational innovations reverberate throughout history and into modern day.
This annual celebration represents a chance for all of us to learn about the fundamental role African Americans have played in how this country has progressed. Black history is American history, something that sadly, has yet to be fully realized. The sudden, fervent protests and laws banning Critical Race Theory from being taught in schools; for example seems to have ignited a call to ban Black History from being covered. There is little to no evidence that Critical Race Theory is part of any academic curriculums in K-12 public schools; it seems to be more about silencing all discussions on race and allowing historical fact to be whitewashed.
You may be surprised to learn about the trailblazers in healthcare featured in this article; you may already know about them, either way it’s time to share their impactful achievements and celebrate their lives.
James McCune Smith, MD (1813-1865)
Graduating with honours in 1837, James McCune Smith became the first African American to receive a medical degree. His courage and determination to follow his calling were not dampened when medical schools in the U.S. refused to accept him because of their racist admission policies; as an alternative, he enrolled at the University of Glasgow (Scotland, UK) where he obtained a BA, MA and medical doctorate.
Upon his return to the United States; McCune Smith became a leading abolitionist, activist and journalist. His tireless work included exposing discriminatory practices targeting Black Americans; like working with Edward Jarvis (a Harvard educated statistician) to utilize medical data to expose and disprove White supremacist/pro-slavery sham concepts of African American racial inferiority.
As the son of Lavinia Smith, who was a North Carolina runaway slave who ended up in New York City, you can understand where he got his tenacity and dedication from; including his resolution to improve access to healthcare for all African Americans and to end slavery.
Charles Richard Drew, MD (1904-1950)
Charles Richard Drew was an African American physician, researcher, and surgeon who revolutionized preservation practices for storing blood plasma used in transfusions.
During the research for his Columbia University doctoral thesis beginning in 1938, he discovered that plasma can be dried; making it easier to store, transport and reconstitute into whole blood when required. With the arrival of World War II, this innovation would prove transformative as the numbers of casualties needing plasma rose dramatically in this time of conflict. As a result of this demand, Drew created two ‘blood banks’ that saved the lives of thousands of injured people; one collected plasma being sent to Britain; the other for U.S. military personnel (he was director of the first ever American Red Cross Blood Bank in 1941).
Despite his significant contributions and expertise; Drew resigned in 1942 from this directorship to protest a ruling that specified African American blood had to be stored away from that of White donors. He had previously fought hard to have Black plasma donations collected as part of the supply network, and as they could only be used on Black patients anyway; he rightfully felt this deeper step into racial segregation was unnecessary and had gone too far.
Charles Drew went on to become chief surgeon at Freedmen’s Hospital and the first African American examiner for the American Board of Surgery.
Henrietta Lacks (1920-1951)
The vast importance of Henrietta Lacks within the medical research field cannot be overstated. She’s been integral since the 1950s to so many crucial breakthroughs within biomedical research that it’s profoundly sad she remained overlooked for so long.
After a diagnosis of cervical cancer in January 1951, Lacks sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was here, without her knowledge or consent, that two cervical samples of her cancerous cells were taken; with one being given to cell biologist Dr. George Otto Gey. During his experimentation and research, Dr. Gey noticed that her cells were ‘immortal’; they could survive, grow and reproduce endlessly (in laboratory conditions). By isolating and multiplying one of the cells, he created the HeLa human cell line (Henrietta Lacks); an infinitely durable, replicable cell strain that has underpinned most modern-day global biomedical advancements. From the polio vaccine to treatments for various cancers; sickle cell anemia; HIV/AIDS; Ebola and even the Covid-19 vaccines; HeLa cells have been at the forefront of medical progress.
Sadly passing away in October 1951, Henrietta Lacks never learned about the significance of her cells or the unethical nature of how her biopsies were taken. Her family only found out in 1973 when researchers contacted them requesting blood samples to study their genes. Consent laws have since improved; however, this doesn’t alter the fact that medical and pharmaceutical companies have benefitted — for decades — from the commercialisation of a Black woman’s body. Her family should be appropriately compensated every time a new HeLa cell line discovery is made.
My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. | Desmond Tutu
Building on our knowledge and understanding of Black History should be something we continually educate ourselves about and celebrate. Learning from the past isn’t an exercise in pointing fingers but a chance to see how far we’ve come while identifying what we have yet to achieve.
How are you celebrating Black History Month? Who are you going to share these incredible trailblazers with?
Further Info:
Black History Month Isn’t Racist, It’s A Form Of Reparations — Teen Vogue
Black History Month Exposes The Fallacy Of White ‘Discomfort — CNN Opinion
Watch ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ (2017) on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, HBO, Hulu, Tubi, Vudu
transatlantic | notes 
What incredible achievements. I am learning so much. It’s disheartening to know that it’s being silenced in education, I certainly did not learn about this when I was in school. I love the quote by Desmond Tutu. Thank you for sharing this important post Molly!
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I hope learning about Black History becomes integral as is something future generations have complete access to. There are so many amazing people, like Henrietta Lacks (her story really moved me) we should all know about them. Thank you so much for reading!
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Thank you for posting such a great and awe-inspiring post. There’s always so much to learn when it comes to Black history.
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Thank you so much for reading!
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That’s pretty cool that James McCune Smith got his degrees in Scotland. I’m surprised he went back knowing what he’d be returning to.
Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells has been the talk of many a documentary, and while her cells are amazing, how it all came about is pretty messed up.
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The book/s and docs about her are a great way to get her story out, it would be wonderful if her story was widely taught in schools (and in any all science/medical settings). It was so messed up how her cells were taken without her consent (I guess that way they made sure she/her family couldn’t financially benefit). Thanks so much for reading!
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This is such an informative post! It’s so important to keep on remembering and reflecting on Black History despite attempts to keep it out of the curriculum, it’s such a key part of history and as a massive history lover it makes me so sad. Henrietta Lack’s story is so tragic, it’s awful that they violated her like that! Thank you so much for sharing.
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Henrietta’s story moved me so much that I had to include it here, the unethical way the medical teams at Johns Hopkins disregarded her privacy, etc was awful. I think they should have honoured her with every use of the HeLa cell strain. Thank you so much for taking the time to read!
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Wow, I’ve heard of HeLa cells, didn’t know where it originated from. Now it makes sense. This should be part of our curriculum in school. I really appreciate you writing about this. Well done
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I agree with you — the history and origins of HeLa cells should be taught as Henrietta is literally part of most major medical breakthroughs. Thank you so much for reading!
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Always great to learn about medical achievements.
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I agree — especially when the recognition is often lacking so it’s good to write about those who should be celebrated!
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Amazing stories! I love hearing about peoples contributions to health care! Black history month really should be celebrated and spoken about more.
Corinne x
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100% agree with you! It was incredible doing the research on these three trailblazers!
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Thank you for sharing these stories. I hadn’t heard any of them before. It’s crazy how important these achievements are yet they aren’t well-known. It just shows how far we still have to go with teaching Black History.
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Exactly — for the groundbreaking nature of their lives and discoveries/inventions you’d think they’d be celebrated far and wide; we definitely have a long way to go!
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This is a super informative post!
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Thank you!
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I’ve read about poor Henrietta so I’m happy that you included her here. Great post, thank you.
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It was an honour to include her as I had read about her a number of years ago too and was so moved by her and her families fight for (rightful) recognition and restitution. Thanks for reading!
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Yes that it’s American history. I think everyone realizes that but their position was mainly suppressed and oppressed so they never rise. I haven’t hear do these people another reason they weren’t brought in the limelight to such a commercial extent that they are remembered. Good for you to shed light on them. Xx
Isa A. Blogger
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Yes, for too long the contributions of Black American’s have been overshadowed or outright ignored (even to this day). I hope this post series proves useful to anyone wanting to learn more. Thank you so much for reading!
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Each of these individuals were instrumental in improving health care today and I thank them for their achievements. Great post. Thanks for sharing.
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It was great to be able to share a little something to celebrate who they were and what they did (for all of us). Thank you so much for reading!
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I love posts like this where you get to learn and see the spectacular talent and genius minds that deserves so much recognition! Thank you for sharing this post.
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Thank you so much for stopping by to read and comment!
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So many great trailblazers here with amazing accomplishments and achievements! Thanks for shedding a light on all of them!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read about them!
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I always learn so many things out if these posts of yours. I hadn’t heard about anyone of them before, yet, I do understand what was their contribution in science and medicine. It is so bad that the stories of these people are not well spread or tought to the youngest. Thank you for sharing all these valuable information!
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It is a great shame that Black History and these amazing people are not taught as a fully recognized, central part of American History. I am so glad you got to learn about them as their lives/stories/innovations are significant for life today.
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So many amazing trailblazers to talk about! I am always so glad to read your posts and learn more and glad that you share your knowledge to share Black History. I already knew about Henrietta Lacks, but not about James McCune Smith. We should really move for adding these to the curriculum!
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Exactly! Their names, lives. works, contributions and innovations should be mainstream and taught as a fully recognized part of American history. It was wonderful to learn and share a little bit about these trailblazers; thank you so much for reading!
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Gosh, I wasn’t aware of what happened to Henrietta Lacks. What a heartbreaking story. Thank you for sharing this wonderfully informative post though and continuing to help educate us!
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I agree; it was heartbreaking to read about and to know that her family are still fighting for recognition and reparations. Thank you so much for reading!
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Thank you for sharing this post! It’s terrible that there are calls to ban Black History Month.
Also, it’s horrible that Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken without her knowledge or consent & so many companies have been profiting off her.
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100% agree — anyone trying to ban Black History from being taught clearly have racist ideals they want to uphold. It’s a shame that this response exists but it’s good people are sharing what they learn. Thank you for reading!
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