ERACISM MINUTE 4/26/2020 Claire Lending

Eracism Minute of April 26, 2020

I am Claire Lending. I participated in Beloved Conversations last year and I am here to present the Eracism minute.

As bad as the medical situation currently is for African Americans in this age of Covid-19, it is vastly better than it would have been if not for a heroic doctor, Dr. Montague Cobb. I first heard of Dr. Cobb when listening to the 1619 project podcast “Bad Blood”.

Hospitals were all segregated in 1947 when Truman gave his “State of the Union” address saying health care was the most pressing problem in America and proposed National Health Insurance-- the first proposal for universal healthcare.  At first it was widely supported. However, the all-white American Medical Association lobbied against the act as they were afraid it would hurt their profits. AMA’s ad campaigns said “Keep Politics out of Medicine” and called Truman a communist. Truman’s initiative failed. 

In the early 1960’s Kennedy and then Johnson tried to pass Medicare. This is where Dr. Cobb used his influence.

Dr. Cobb earned his medical degree at Howard University then earned a Phd in Physical Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University in 1932. He taught approximately 6000 medical and dental students over his 37-year career at Howard University. Dr. Cobb’s research showed the
impact of racism on the health of African Americans.  He believed in applying his research findings to social activism. 

Dr. Cobb became the president of the National Medical Association; this organization was formed as the American Medical Association would not admit black doctors. In 1963, the National Medical Association under the leadership of Dr. Cobb testified in Congress and lobbied for Medicare (while the AMA opposed it). Dr. Cobb viewed Medicare as a way to fund healthcare and desegregate hospitals. The segregation of hospitals had caused vastly inferior health care for African Americans. 

In July 1964, the Civil Rights Act passed making “separate but equal” hospitals illegal. Many white hospitals ignored the law. However, once Medicare passed a year later, only desegregated hospitals could reap the Medicare money so within three months all hospitals were desegregated. 

Dr. Cobb’s vision and efforts to establish a more equitable healthcare system have helped not only African Americans but those of all races to access healthcare.  Medicare might not have become law without the strong support of a group of physicians led by Dr. Cobb.