Black History Month
October is Black History Month in the UK and it's been celebrated nationwide every year for nearly 40 years.
This month was originally founded to recognise the contributions that people of African and Caribbean backgrounds have made to this country over many generations. Now, Black History Month has expanded to include the history of not just African-Caribbean Black people but all Black people in general.
Within a medical context, it's important to recognise the contribution that Black people have made to the advancement of medical knowledge and to the work of the NHS. Many of the Windrush generation went on to work in the NHS.
Below, you will find pictures and profiles celebrating some of the earliest Black medical professionals and students associated with Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry or the hospitals now part of Barts Health NHS Trust.
Further links to influential Black medics and campaigners:
Dr Harold Moody (1882-1947): Physician and Campaigner for Racial Equality
Mary Seacole (1805-1881): British-Jamaican Nurse, Heroine of the Crimean War
Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler (1831-1895): first Black woman doctor in the USA
Dzagbele Matilda Asante (1927- ): pre-Windrush African nurse
Patricia Bath (1942-2019): Medical pioneer and creator of the Laserphaco Probe