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Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons home banner written in yellow and black text. Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons home banner written in yellow and black text. Pioneers written in black text with a light blue background. Above the text is an image of three surgeons standing in an operating room performing surgery with several nurses and attendants observing. Courtesy Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University. Contemporary Pioneers written in white text with a purple background. Above the text is an image of Alexa Canady preparing for surgery. Courtesy Detroit Free Press/Hugh Glannum. New Frontiers written in black text with a blue background. bove the text is an image of a head shot of a women surgeon wearing a mask, cap and protective eyewear. Courtesy Sharon Henry, M.D. and Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems. History written in black text with a yellow background. Above the text is an image of an illustration of a building with a flag flying at the top. Courtesy National Library of Medicine.

Credits banner

This exhibition was developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture.

Curated by Margaret A. Hutto and Jill L. Newmark

Exhibition design by RCW Communications, Inc.
Exhibition fabrication by Adler Display, Inc. and CSI

With grateful appreciation to

National Library of Medicine

  • Elizabeth Fee, Ph.D., Chief, History of Medicine Division
  • Patricia Tuohy, Head, Exhibitions Program
  • Roxanne Beatty, Web Design
  • Ba Ba Chang, Administrative Assistant
  • Rachel-Ray Cleveland, Conservator

Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture

  • William Rhodes, Exhibit Preparator

With our greatest admiration and gratitude, we thank the surgeons and their staff

Alexa I. Canady, M.D.
LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D.
Claude H. Organ, Jr., M.D.
Rosalyn P. Scott, M.D., M.S.H.A.
The Organ Family

L.D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.
Malcolm V. Brock, M.D.
Karyn L. Butler, M.D.
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D.
Edward E. Cornwell III, M.D.
Kenneth Davis, Jr., M.D.
Sharon M. Henry, M.D.
Carla M. Pugh, M.D., Ph.D.
Velma Scantlebury, M.D.
Claudia L. Thomas, M.D.
Patricia L. Turner, M.D.
Errington C. Thompson, M.D.
Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D.

T. Lauren Canter, Administrative Assistant to Dr. Levi Watkins, Jr.
Diana Cobb, Administrative Assistant to Dr. Sharon Henry
Karen Dillich, Administrative Assistant to Dr. L.D. Britt
Audrey Jones, Office Manager to Dr. Benjamin Carson
Margaret M. Kosiba, Administrative Assistant to Dr. Claude H. Organ, Jr.
Raven Patterson, Administrative Assistant to Dr. LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr.
Lee Palmer, Administrative Assistant to Dr. Edward E. Cornwell III, M.D.

We wish to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions

Tewodros Abebe, Assistant Archivist
Moorland –Spingarn Research Center, Howard University

Archives of Surgery
Teri S. Carter, Editorial Assistant
Cindy Kuzma, JAMA/Archives Media Relations

Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
Glenda Insua
Karen L. Johnson

Ebony Magazine, Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.
Renee Cogdell Lewis, Esq.

Peggy Garrity, Corporate Communications
Aetna, Inc.

Kim Hoppe, Associate Director of Communications and Public Affairs
The Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions

Elizabeth Ferguson Keathley, Archivist
Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, Georgia

Forrester (Woody) Lee, M.D.
Yale University School of Medicine

Lincoln Elementary School, Dubuque, Iowa
Donna Loewen, Ph.D., Principal
Janann Dostal, Teacher
Imla Alvarenga, Student
Jackson Digman, Student
Tanner Ruble, Student

Meharry Medical School
Barbara Grissom, Archives
Tarry Nwaise, Art Director

Nancy R. Miller, Public Services Archivist
University of Pennsylvania Archives and Records Center

New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network
Nell Ryan

Mrs. Elizabeth Organ
Oakland, California

Paul G. Organ, M.D.
Washington, D.C.

Rita C. Organ
Indianapolis, Indiana

Timothy L. Pennycuff, Assistant Professor and University Archivist
University of Alabama at Birmingham

John R. Potts, M.D., Assistant Dean
University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston Medical School

Cynthia M. Rivers, Public Information Officer
R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland Medical Center

Society of Black Academic Surgeons
Frederick Cason, M.D.
Michael T. Watkins, M.D.

University of California San Francisco-East Bay
Department of Surgery
David Cone, Public Affairs
Elsa Hirvela, M.D.
Janey Kunkle, M.D.

Photography Credits

Imla Alvarenga
Archives of Surgery
AP/Worldwide Photos
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan
L.D. Britt, M.D., M.P.H.
Malcolm V. Brock, M.D.
Karyn L. Butler, M.D.
Alexa I. Canady, M.D.
Benjamin S. Carson, Sr., M.D.
Edward E. Cornwell III, M.D.
Kenneth Davis, Jr., M.D.
Detroit Free Press/Hugh Grannum
Jackson Digman
Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore
Ebony Magazine
Sharon M. Henry, M.D.
Howard University College of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins University Medical Institutions
Lou Jones
LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D.
Library of Congress
Lincoln Elementary School, Dubuque, Iowa
Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services System
Meharry Medical College Archives
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University Archives
National Library of Medicine
New Jersey Organ and Tissue Sharing Network/Tony Graves
Claude H. Organ, Jr., M.D.
Mrs. Elizabeth Organ
Paul G. Organ, M.D.
Rita C. Organ
Carla M. Pugh, M.D., Ph.D
Tanner Ruble
Velma Scantlebury, M.D.
Rosalyn P. Scott, M.D., M.S.H.A.
Society of Black Academic Surgeons
South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, Georgia
Claudia L. Thomas, M.D.
Errington C. Thompson, M.D.
Patricia L. Turner, M.D.
UAB Archives, University of Alabama at Birmingham
University of Pennsylvania Archives
Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D.
Yale University School of Medicine