Black Health & Wellness: Celebrating Black History Month 2022

Kelsey Maddox, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Specialist, Talent Acquisition at Blend360

?The origins of Black History Month dates back to September 1915, nearly 50 years after the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery was passed in the United States. Historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Mooreland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), an organization committed to researching and advancing Black American achievements. Today it is known as the ASALH, Association for the Study of African American Life, and in 1926 they sponsored the first Negro History week nationally for the second week of February in honor of Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.

Communities, schools, and clubs would celebrate this week with performances and lectures, and by the 1960s, many cities across the United States began recognizing “Negro History Week.” With help from the Civil Rights Movement, there became a growing awareness of Black identity, and the celebration of black excellence became Black History Month across the country’s college campuses. In 1976, President Gerald Ford formally recognized Black History Month and urged the public to take the opportunity to learn and honor Black American accomplishments throughout history. After that, each president has designated February as Black History Month and endorses a yearly theme.

This year’s Black History Month theme focuses on Black Health and Wellness. February will celebrate the achievements and legacy of Black scholars, medical professionals in Western medicine, and others who have contributed to healthcare for the Black community, such as birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc., throughout the African Diaspora. The term African Diaspora refers to the mass dispersion of Africans from their homeland during the Transatlantic Slave Trades that lasted from the 1500s into the 1800s.

One of the most prolific contributors to medicine was James Durham, born into slavery in 1762. James Durham is the first Black American to practice medicine in the United States formally. Originally from Philadelphia, Durham studied medicine from several physicians who had owned him during his childhood. In 1783 he relocated to New Orleans, where he eventually bought his freedom and opened up his own practice where he helped patients of all ethnicities. Although Durham did not receive a formal medical degree, he was effective in helping patients with diphtheria and treating those with yellow fever in the 1789 outbreak.

Throughout the month of February, Blend360 will highlight important people who have attributed to the achievements of Black Americans throughout history.