CHPA Celebrates Black History Month

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CHPA is pleased to recognize and celebrate Black History Month. In Voice, DS Digest, and on social media, we will feature a prominent Black figure who has contributed to the health and wellness of Americans.

Honoring Dr. Roscoe Conkling Brown, Sr.

This week, we’re happy to shine a light on Dr. Roscoe Conkling Brown, Sr., a dentist and public health pioneer who served in various national organizations specializing in African American health. Brown joined the United States Public Health Service and helped establish the Office of Negro Health Work.

Brown also became a member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s informal “Black Cabinet” to represent the specific needs of African Americans during the New Deal. Brown helped the Office of Negro Health Work coordinate a Negro Health Week, develop educational materials, and publish a quarterly journal on issues that concerned the Black community.

Join us in celebrating the life and work of Dr. Roscoe Conkling Brown, Sr.!

Honoring Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner

We are happy to shine a light on Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner. Kenner was an inventor who holds the record for the most patents awarded to a Black woman by the U.S. government. In 1957, she received her first patent for the sanitary belt, the precursor to sanitary pads.

Kenner’s father was an inventor and inspired her and her sister to begin inventing at a young age. At 6 years old, Kenner began to create her own inventions such as a portable ashtray that can be attached to cigarette packs and an umbrella with a sponge on the tip to soak up rain.

Kenner is often described as the “forgotten inventor” who revolutionized menstrual products because Kenner never received any awards or recognition for her impact in women’s healthcare.

Join us in celebrating the life and work of Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner!

Honoring Dr. Ionia Rollin Whipper

We are happy to shine a light on Dr. Ionia Rollin Whipper. Dr. Whipper was an obstetrician and public health outreach worker born in Beaufort, South Carolina. When she graduated from Howard University in 1903, she was one of her generation's few Black female physicians. In 1911, she started her private practice in D.C., where she only accepted female patients.

From 1921 to 1929, Dr. Whipper worked for the United States Children’s Bureau, which allowed her to travel throughout the rural south to educate midwives on sanitation and hygiene. Dr. Whipper devoted most of her career to either teaching or founding organizations to improve the lives of low-income Black women in Washington.

Join us in celebrating the life and work of Dr. Ionia Rollin Whipper!

Honoring Dr. William G. Anderson, DO

We are happy to shine a light on Dr. William G. Anderson, DO. William was born in Georgia and attended the Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine. After his graduation, he returned home to Georgia, where he founded and led the Albany Movement, working closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and other leaders to advance the health and well-being of Black communities. In 1964, Anderson became the first Black surgical resident in Detroit’s history, and in 1994, he became the first Black president of the American Osteopathic Association.

Anderson currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the Virginia campus of VCOM, the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is also a faculty member at the Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, where an annual civil rights lecture is held in his name.

Join us in celebrating the life and work of Dr. William G. Anderson!