This Black History Month, as the nation takes the time to acknowledge the accomplishments of well-known civil rights leaders, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., I find myself thinking about a lesser known figure: Rebecca Lee Crumpler, M.D.
Crumpler became the first African American female physician in 1864—right around time the Civil War was coming to an end, and the journey of healthcare for Black people in America was, perhaps, just beginning.
As I struggle to wrap my mind around the tremendous hardships and challenges Crumpler must have endured, her textbook, A Book of Medical Discourses, provides insight on her determination to champion healthcare for women and children, as well as her drive to document the complexity and multifactorial aspects of illness.