AR31: Resolution Text

CMH:amn

2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE

2021 Assembly RESOLUTION 31

March 7, 2022 - Introduced by Representatives Allen, Horlacher and Armstrong. Referred to Committee on Rules.

AR31,1,2 Relating to: recognizing, and expressing gratitude for, the significant contributions of Black Americans to the history of medicine of this country.

AR31,1,4 Whereas, Americans have recognized Black History Month annually since February 1976; and

AR31,1,6 Whereas, we use the month to remember the contributions and achievements of Black Americans throughout our state's and nation's history; and

AR31,1,8 Whereas, medical practitioners play a pivotal role in the life of every American; and

AR31,1,10 Whereas, the Black History Month 2022 theme is “Black Health and Wellness,” which acknowledges the legacy of Black medical practitioners; and

AR31,2,2 Whereas, James Durham, though born into slavery in 1762, learned how to read, write, and work with patients from several physicians who owned him throughout his childhood, and came to New Orleans in 1783, and whereas, he bought his freedom and opened a medical practice in the city, where he cared for patients of all racial backgrounds, and whereas, Durham was successful in treating patients with diphtheria, and saved a high number of patients who experienced yellow fever during an outbreak in 1789; and

AR31,2,7 Whereas, James McCune Smith, MD, became the first Black American to practice in the United States with a medical degree in 1837, though due to segregated admission practices, he had to enroll at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and whereas, he was also the first Black physician to establish and operate a pharmacy, and the first Black physician to publish articles in U.S. medical journals; and

AR31,2,11 Whereas, Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD, became the first Black woman physician in the United States in 1864 after earning her degree from the New England Female Medical College in Boston, and whereas, she later published Book of Medical Disclosures, a volume of medical advice for women and children; and

AR31,2,14 Whereas, Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., began its first series of classes on Nov. 9, 1868, becoming the first program in the United States to open its doors to medical students of all races, genders, and social classes; and

AR31,2,19 Whereas, Daniel Hale Williams, MD, opened the first Black-owned and first interracial hospital in the United States (Provident Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Chicago) in 1891, and whereas, two years later, Williams performed one of the world's first successful heart surgeries, saving the life of a man who had been stabbed in the chest; and

AR31,2,23 Whereas, Louis T. Wright, MD, developed a technique for vaccinating soldiers against smallpox in 1917 while working in Camp Upton, N.Y., and whereas, he became the first clinician to investigate the treatment of humans with aureomycin, a tetracycline antibiotic; and

AR31,3,3 Whereas, William Augustus Hinton, MD, developed a test in 1927 for diagnosing syphilis in infected patients, and in 1936 authored Syphilis and Its Treatment, the first clinical medical textbook written by a Black physician, and whereas, he became the first Black person promoted to the title of professor at Harvard Medical School in 1949; and

AR31,3,8 Whereas, Charles Drew, MD, discovered in 1939 that blood plasma can be dried and reconstituted when needed, making it an effective substitute for whole blood transfusions, and whereas he developed ways to process and preserve plasma in “blood banks,” a procedure that saved the lives of countless American soldiers during World War II and in later conflicts; and

AR31,3,15 Whereas, Vivien Thomas began working with Dr. Alfred Blalock as a laboratory assistant at Vanderbilt University in 1930 without any formal training, and whereas, he joined Dr. Blalock in 1940 to run the Johns Hopkins Hospital lab in the 1940s through the 1970s, and whereas, he devised an operation in 1944 to save “Blue Babies” – infants born with a heart defect that sends blood past their lungs – and whereas, this operation helped save the lives of over 1,000 children at Johns Hopkins alone; and

AR31,3,18 Whereas, Alfred Day Hershey, PhD, a geneticist, became the first Black American to earn a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969 for his research on the replication and genetic structure of viruses; and

AR31,3,21 Whereas, Ben Carson, MD, led a 70-member team in 1987 to successfully complete the first surgical separation of conjoined twins attached at the back of the head; and

AR31,3,25 Whereas, Patricia Bath, MD, was the first Black person to complete a residency in ophthalmology, and became the first Black female physician to receive a medical invention patent in 1988 after inventing the Laserphaco Probe, a surgical tool that results in less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts; now, therefore, be it

AR31,4,3 Resolved by the assembly, That the Wisconsin Assembly recognizes the significant contributions of Black Americans to the history of medicine of this country, and through this resolution, expresses its gratitude.

AR31,4,4 (End)