By Garry Blanson
During my recent research into Black History, I found some interesting information about a Black female doctor named “Rebecca Lee Crumpler.”
She was born on February 8, 1831, in Christiana, Delaware. While tagging along with and watching her Aunt, who often served as the town physician, Rebecca got a notion to attend medical school. After gaining experience from helping her Aunt, Rebecca moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1852.
She worked as a nurse before applying and becoming accepted into the New England Female Medical College in 1860.
Thanks to a letter of recommendation from the physician who supervised her during her medical apprenticeship and her tuition being paid via a scholarship she won from the Wade Scholarship Fund, Rebecca could attend medical school.
Since back in 1860, it was very rare for Black men or Black women to be admitted to medical schools, it was no surprise that she was the “first and only” Black in her class!
In February 1864, she graduated from New England Female Medical School, and on March 1, 1864, the Board of Trustees named Rebecca Lee Crumpler a Doctor of Medicine, which gave her status as “The First Negro Woman” in America to become a formally-trained physician.
Also, Rebecca was one of the first Black physicians to have a medical book published in the United States.
In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses.
Furthermore, Rebecca worked for the Freedmen’s Bureau
to provide medical care to freed slaves who white physicians denied care.
Additionally, Rebecca lived at 67 Joy Street in Boston, a predominantly African-American community in Beacon Hill. Her Joy Street house is a stop on the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
On March 9, 1895, Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in Boston, Massachusetts. The Rebecca Lee Pre-Health Society at Syracuse University and the Rebecca Lee Society, one of the first medical societies for African-American women, were named after her and are part of the Legacy that she left behind for future generations of Blacks.
In closing, we as Blacks must make greater efforts to teach our Black youth about the people like Rebecca who endured being mistreated, scorned, and abused, so that future generations would not have it as bad!
