We are our history: Baylor University Medical Center and Black physicians in Dallas

Abstract

The Texas Baptist Memorial Sanatorium, the hospital that later became known as Baylor University Medical Center, dates back to 1904. With this long-lived history comes the truths that affected all hospitals during the Jim Crow era: segregation and inequality. This paper attempts to place Baylor University Medical Center, which aimed (and continues to aim) to be a “great humanitarian hospital,” in its historical context. Understanding this history may help explain and combat the inequities we continue to see in health care today.

Keywords:

• African American
• Baylor University Medical Center
• Black
• Dallas
• KKK
• Truett

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This paper would not have been possible without contributions from several important people. Dr. John Fordtran provided his time, wisdom, numerous resources, and his own published pieces on the history of medicine in Dallas. Eva Gay Osborn, a library associate at the Baylor Health Sciences Library, was helpful in pulling several resources that were challenging to find. Dr. Sharon Larkin and Dr. Paula Dobbs-Wiggins met with me on several occasions and provided me with their own insights as well as connections to several other important Black physicians in Dallas. Dr. William Frazier, Dr. James Gray, and Dr. Carol Gray were kind enough to share their stories with me over the phone and in person. Albert Black and his son Tre Black provided information about integration on the corporate side of the organization. Dr. Kara Toles, the great-niece of Dr. William Flowers, shared with me her family’s understanding of his death. Dr. Merrick Reese shared with me his account of accepting Dr. William Frazier as the first Black intern at BUMC. I am indebted to Dr. Tanisha Hamilton, without whom the Dr. William F. Larkin Lecture Series would not exist. I am grateful for the support in the development of this work from many other notable Baylor leaders: Dr. Amy Wilson, Steve Newton, Dr. Michael Emmett, and Dr. Nicole Bedros. My husband, Dr. Benjamin Morrissey, my father, Dr. Robert Fine, and my mother, Nina Cortell, all contributed their editorial skills. This article is dedicated to Dr. William Frazier and Dr. William F. Larkin.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The author reports no funding or conflicts of interest.