Dr. Dorothy L. Brown
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Posted By: Gwen Thompson on February 29, 2008 First African American general surgeon in the South On January 7, Dorothy Lavinia Brown was born in 1919. She was an African-American doctor, legislator and the first black female surgeon in the South. From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when she was five-months old, her unmarried mother placed her in the Troy Orphanage, living there until she was thirteen years old. Brown first became interested in medicine at the age of five when she had her tonsils taken out. In 1932, Browns mother took her out of the orphanage, but they did not get along very well. She ran away from home and was then placed as a mother's helper in Mrs. W.F. Jarrett's house where she was encouraged to become a doctor. After high school, she obtained a scholarship to Bennett College, receiving her Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1941. In 1944 she enrolled at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee graduating in 1948 in the top third of her class. Brown started as an intern at Harlem hospital in New York, with strong opposition to female Surgeons she was denied a surgical residency; she did not let this stop her from becoming a surgeon. She went back to Meharry and got her a residency there and completed it in 1954. Dorothy Brown became the first African-American female surgeon in the South. Brown served as the educational director of the Riverside-Meharry Clinical Rotation Program and the chief of surgery at Riverside. She then became the attending surgeon at George W. Hubbard Hospital and professor of surgery at the Meharry Medical College. In addition to her first in southern medicine, she also became the first single woman in Tennessee to adopt a child. Brown named her new daughter Lola Brown in honor of her foster mother. In 1966 she became the first African-American woman to be elected to the Tennessee State Legislature for a two-year term. She tried in 1968 to run for a seat in the Tennessee Senate, but lost. One of the main reasons she lost the election was her support to liberalize the abortion laws in Tennessee. She was a fellow of the American College of Surgery. She was a past member of the board of trustees at Bennett College. She was also a member of the United Methodist Church as well as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Brown spoke often on panels for scientific, religious, medical, and political topics. She wrote many essays and inspirational guides. She belonged to the United Methodist Church. She has also been given honorary degrees in Humanities form Bennett College and Cumberland University. Dorothy Brown, a pioneering black female surgeon and Tennessee legislator, died of congestive heart failure on June 13, 2004 in Nashville. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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