The Museum of the Albemarle will open its newest exhibit, Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons, on June 3, 2024. “The National Library of Medicine produced Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons. The exhibit was guest curated by Jill L. Newmark (NLM Exhibition Program) and Margaret A. Hutto (Reginald F. Lewis Museum). This special collaboration with the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, featured a companion exhibition at the museum. The traveling banner exhibition and companion website (Opening Doors: Contemporary African American Academic Surgeons (nih.gov)) tell the stories of pioneering African American surgeons and educators who exemplify excellence in their fields and work to educate and mentor younger physicians and surgeons. Opening Doors recognizes the long tradition African Americans healers and physicians and celebrates the contributions of African American academic surgeons to medicine and medical education.”
The National Library of Medicine produced this exhibition and companion website.
This exhibit, which will close on July 13, 2024, is free and open to the public.
Graphics:
Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital operating room, 1900
“Founded in 1895 by Dr. Nathan F. Mossell, Frederick Douglass Memorial Hospital and Training School was a Black owned and operated institution, serving the Black community of Philadelphia and providing professional opportunities to Black physicians and nurses.”
Courtesy National Library of Medicine
Sharon M. Henry, M.D.
“Dr. Sharon M. Henry conducts research in the management of complex wounds and critical illness. She is the first African American woman elected as a member of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.”
Courtesy Sharon M. Henry, M.D. and Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems
Freedmen’s Hospital operating amphitheater, Howard University, 1903
“In the Freedmen's Hospital amphitheater African American surgeons operated on patients while residents and other staff observed. The hospital was established in 1863 to provide medical care to former slaves, and older and disabled African Americans.”
Courtesy Moorland Spingarn Research Center, Howard University
About the Museum of the Albemarle
The Museum of the Albemarle is located at 501 S. Water Street, Elizabeth City, NC. (252) 335-1453. www.museumofthealbemarle.com. Find us on Facebook! Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Closed Sundays and State Holidays. Serving Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington Counties, the museum is the northeast regional history museum of the North Carolina Division of State History Museums within the N.C.
Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural, and economic future. Information is available 24/7 at www.dncr.nc.gov.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.
The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the North Carolina Zoo, the North Carolina Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.