Often overlooked, healthcare is an essential part to history and preservation of a people. From advancements in medicine and innovation for a healthier community, the health of a community is indicative of their continued success and resilience through times of struggles.
The African American community in particular is a shining example of these attributes. The history of our struggles and inequities in healthcare make it that much more important that we document our history and struggles. From the scarring past of the Tuskegee syphilis experience to the creation of the ambulance based on Black EMSservices, Black people have cemented a history of influence and prominence in health history.
Equally important, the history of Black churches as they have become integral hubs for community and fights against injustice in the Black community.
While these two aspects of Black history are often glanced over for the more glamorous and “eventful” aspects of African-American history, they remain pillars in the advancement of Black people in America. While not holding the power evoking language of Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech or as tragic as the “4 bombing”, these two serve as a foundation for which many achievements notable people have come from.
Combining these elements into the midwest, Iowa provides a unique perspective to evaluate these two intersections of the community and our history. As they often collide, but rarely recorded, I decided to search for the history of Black health care initiatives in Iowa and if there was any collaboration with the church.
Upon looking for initiatives, I stumbled across the man who inadvertently initiated the Black health stream in Iowa. Dr. Edward Carter was one of the first African American men to graduate from the University of Iowa medical school at 26.
Read about him here!
“Carter practiced in Buxton until the coal mining company shut down in 1919, at which point he and his family moved to Des Moines where he continued serving the community. Later they moved to Detroit, where he passed away in 1956 at the age of 75.”
- Iowa Cancer Consortium
Moving into the present-day, in an effort to keep the ball rolling I decided to highlight some Black health initiatives around Iowa.
Starting with the Back the Black campaign, started by the Iowa Healthiest State Initiative in 2022, “created by Black Iowans – for Black Iowans.” Back the Black focuses on destigmatizing mental health and creating accessible pathways for treatment in the Black community, trying to come up with ways to combat the invisible barrier that Black folk face everyday in relation to healthcare services.
See here!
https://www.iowahealthieststate.com/back-the-black
Another group, Black Women 4 Health, is a Christian led organization that seeks to close the health disparities of Black women in the Greater Des Moines area. They focus on providing resources, educating, and advocating for black women. This group directly intersects with the Black community’s history of churches as a safe space and addressing health disparities. They often have initiatives partnering with local churches in the DSM area, check them out!
As we continue in these turbulent times of injustice in the country, it is always important to not only remember our history, but to keep making history for the future generations and that is what these organizations are doing. Acknowledging the disparities that the Black community faces should always be an important topic to discuss and always a “hot-button” issue because health is wealth!
Black Women 4 healthy living. Facebook. (n.d.). https://www.facebook.com/BW4HL/
Edward A. Carter: First Black College of Medicine Graduate. Carver College of Medicine – The University of Iowa. (2021, February 18). https://medicine.uiowa.edu/news/2021/02/edward-carter-first-black-college-medicine-graduate
Holistic approach. Black Women 4 Healthy Living. (n.d.). https://bw4hl.org/
Langos, C. (2024, February 27). The Healthiest State Initiative introduces the back the Black Campaign. Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. https://www.iowahealthieststate.com/news/the-healthiest-state-initiative-introduces-the-back-the-black-campaign
Make it ok – back the black. Iowa Healthiest State Initiative. (n.d.). https://www.iowahealthieststate.com/back-the-black
Orton, L. (2024, January 31). Celebrating Black History Month: Changemakers in the history of cancer and medicine. Iowa Cancer Consortium. https://canceriowa.org/celebrating-black-history-month-changemakers-in-the-history-of-cancer-and-medicine/
