Remembering Maltheus Avery: Race, Medicine, and Duke Hospital in the Jim Crow Era

On December 1, 1950, a 24 year old Army veteran named Maltheus Avery died from a car accident after having been turned away from Duke Hospital--because its wards for Black patients were full. Avery's story ignited national outrage in the Black press, and inspired an early civil rights campaign to end hospital segregation. Yet this event has largely been forgotten at Duke, overshadowed by the death of prominent African-American surgeon Charles Drew in another local car accident the same year. Join Drs. Baker and Tweedy for a discussion of what happened, why it mattered in its day, and why it remains important to remember today. Dr. Tweedy is the author of Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine. Dr. Baker's recent research has centered on the history of racism in medical centers and their communities, with a particular focus on Duke Health. The Trent Center is grateful for the generous support for this project from the Josiah C. Trent Foundation, the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, and the Duke Institutional History Project.