Until the early 1960s, African Americans were legally denied access to most medical care and hospitals because of “Jim Crow” segregation. The case of Simpkins v. Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital led to integration of hospitals across the nation. A N.C. Highway Historical Marker will be dedicated Tuesday, Nov. 1, to recognize the 1963 Fourth Circuit Court ruling that receipt of federal funding made private hospitals subject to the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The noontime dedication will be on North Elm Street beside Cone Hospital in Greensboro.
The landmark suit was filed by a group of African American physicians and patients in Greensboro, led by dentist and local NAACP president Dr. George C. Simkins. It was brought against Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital and Wesley Long Community Hospital in 1962. The case centered on the use of federal funding to construct facilities under the provision of the Hospital Survey and Construction Act of 1946 (the Hill-Burton Act), which provided funds for public and nonprofit hospital construction.
“Many North Carolina Highway Historical markers, including this one, acknowledge the contributions of North Carolinians seeking justice,” said Secretary Susan Kluttz of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. “These markers honor the Greensboro Sit-in, Black Wall Street, Romare Bearden and other events that acknowledge an important part of our state’s history.”
In the course of resolution, the U.S. Middle District Court ruled that the use of federal funding did not bring private hospitals under the purview of Hill-Burton. That act required that federal funding for facilities that discriminated would only be provided if “separate but equal” facilities were planned for blacks also. The two hospitals provided limited or no access to treatment for African American patients or for physician practice. The suit further argued that as in Brown v. Board of Education, separate but equal should be struck down.
An appeal filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed the Middle Court ruling. In a 3-2 decision, the Fourth Circuit Court ruled that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments did apply to the private hospitals, because they received federal funds. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case in 1964, so the appeals court decision stood.
For additional information about the marker dedication or the N.C. Highway Historical Marker Program, please call (919) 807-7290. The Highway Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. Departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.