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Day 4: "A Book on Medical Discourses” by Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. She was also one of the first Black female physician authors. She published “A Book on Medical Discourses in Two Parts” in 1883. The first part focused on infant care, and the second on women’s health. Both sections offered tangible ways to tend to women and children with everyday resources.

Pictures of the first two pages of Dr. Crumpler's work. The first page outlines details of the book, and the second page says Copyright 1883, Dr. Rebecca Crumpler, M.D. National Library of Medicine

About Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler
Rebecca Lee Crumpler was born as Rebecca Davis in 1831. She was raised by an aunt in Pennsylvania who often cared for sick neighbors, which made her want to work “relieve the suffering of others.” In the early 1850s, she moved to Massachusetts and became a nurse (NPS). She graduated from New England Female Medical College in 1864, the first school in the country to train women M.D.s. She became the first female African American doctor with the official degree “Doctress of Medicine” (NPS). 
 
After graduating, Dr. Crumpler remained in Boston to practice. But after the Civil War, she traveled south to Richmond, Virginia to support those closer to the front lines and a space that would “present ample opportunities to become acquainted with the diseases of women and children”. She worked alongside the Freedmen’s Bureau, a short-lived initiative enacted by Congress in 1865 to support recently freed enslaved people to gain safety and security in their newly emancipated lives (History). Throughout her career, she dedicated her time to ensuring that lower-income Black people received quality care that they may not have been afforded otherwise. Her work inspired other Black people to seek professional medical experience.

"In dealing with subjects that bring to mind thousands of premature mortalities, as, for instance, those from cholera infantum or pneumonia, I deem it expedient to speak only of what I know and to which I can testify. I have endeavored to give some domestic or ready palliative reliefs for the several cases described; thereby hoping to avoid the possibility of a remedy's being applied without an acquaintance with the character and phases of the complaint for which it is intended.

 --Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler

An excerpt from Dr. Crumpler’s book demonstrates how she prescribed relatively easily accessible treatments to help assuage health issues any woman may experience

After returning to Boston, Dr. Crumpler published  “A Book on Medical Discourses in Two Parts” in 1883, decades after she began studying medicine and just 12 years before her death. The book is a compilation of the journal notes she recorded during her lifetime. Unlike other medical texts available at the time, her book focused on speaking to women, knowing that they are often the caregivers and stand in as medical guides when doctors aren’t accessible. The book outlines ways to care for pregnant women, complications during pregnancy, caring for an infant, and caring for women throughout their menstrual cycle. She dedicated the book to “mothers, nurses, and all who may desire to mitigate the afflictions of the human race.”
 
Dr. Crumpler married twice and had one child, Lizzie Sinclair Crumpler. She passed away in Boston in 1895. Her home is featured on the Boston Black Heritage Trail as part of the Boston African American National Historic Site (NPS). There are no existing photos of her. Most of what we know about Dr. Crumpler is what she recorded about herself in her own book.
 
Today, only 5% of active physicians in the U.S. are Black. We still have a long way to go to ensure equitable representation in the medical field, and more comprehensive pathways to accessible, inclusive care.

Reflection Questions

1.What are you an expert in? How can you collect that information and share it with others?



2.Today, there is abundant medical information publicly available – and misinformation, too. Why is it important to check the sources of the medical information we receive online?


3.Do you prefer to work with physicians that reflect a part of your lived experience? Why or why not? Why is it important to have physicians that everyone can feel comfortable with?