BLACK HISTORY MONTH

                                               Excerpts from my book; Practicing From The Heart in the age of technology.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
 

One  interesting thing about politics is that you never know whom you meet  or when someone you know becomes truly important and famous.  When I  served on the New Mexico Medical Board, we routinely attended the  Federation of the State Medical Boards annual meetings.  There we met  and worked with representatives from other states and even countries.  One such lady I had the honor to meet was Doctor Regina Benjamin from  the Alabama Medical Board.  Dr. Benjamin's history is most fascinating  and enlightening.  Born in Mobile, Alabama, to a poor family, she had  her share of tests and trials.  In 1984, she was the first from her  family to receive an M.D.  She then worked as a clinician serving the  fishing community of Bayou La Batre.  
 

Dr.  Benjamin became a true leader and was the first African-American woman  and the first physician under age 40 to be elected to the American  Medical Association's (AMA) board of trustees in 1995. She followed  years later in 2002 with another big achievement, becoming the first  black woman to lead a state-based medical society as president of the  Medical Association of the State of Alabama. And still yet an even  bigger achievement as the first African-American female physician to get  appointed The U.S. 18th Surgeon General in 2009 - appointed by  President Barack Obama.   
 

Dr.  Benjamin is now back at her La Batre clinic doing what she loves. Over  the length of her career, she has received many honorary degrees and  awards, including the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights  and the National Caring Award. So, in this Black History Month, we take  this opportunity to salute her and all African-American (and indeed all  people of color) physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers whose  contribution cannot be overlooked or forgotten.  Thank you!
 

African-Americans’  role covers many aspects of our history. Most are not mentioned in any  of our history books but should be memorialized as their contributions  are as significant as those of any white person.  Writers like Festus  Claudius “Claude” McKay (Sept. 15, 1889 - May 22, 1948), a Jamaican  writer and poet who was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, and  Gayl Jones (born Nov. 23, 1949), author of novels: Corregidora, Eva's  Man, and The Healing.
And my favorite, Bessie Coleman (Jan. 26, 1892  – April 30, 1926) the first Black and Native American (her father was  of Cherokee ancestry and her mother was African American) female pilot.   
Many more like Mae Jemison (10/17/1956), the first Black female  astronaut, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Miriam Mann, whose  contribution to computer sciences cannot be overstated (The movie;  Hidden Figures, is all about them. Watch it on Amazon).
                                                                We salute them all!   
 

                                                                                                                                                         Reza Ghadimi