Black-owned or –operated hospitals were prominent in the South and in northern cities from the time of slavery until the Civil Rights era, according to an article on the Hospitals & Health Networks website.
“Originally created to provide health care and education within a segregated society, they evolved to become symbols of black pride and achievement,” wrote Vanessa Northington Gamble in her book, Making a Place for Ourselves: The Black Hospital Movement, 1920 to 1945."
A few black hospitals remain. Scholars are left to argue over their legacy, the article said.
Some say that America’s racial divide persists and black hospitals are uniquely positioned to address the needs of African-Americans. Others acknowledge that the divide exists but is slowly narrowing.
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