This article was written by Emily Bowden, and edited by Kimberley Barker.
“Everyday People: Images of Black Life at the UVA Health System” is a photographic exhibition created to illustrate the contributions of African American doctors, nurses, staff, and students at the UVA Health System. The exhibition is on display in the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library, and coincides with other UVA exhibits celebrating Black History Month in the Harrison Small Research Center and the Arthur J. Morris Law Library.
Wayne B. Philip, MD, a resident in Internal Medicine, 1993, prints21603.
For over 200 years, African Americans have made significant contributions to the UVA School of Medicine, School of Nursing, and Medical Center, even while the University retained policies for much of that time that limited African Americans’ access to education and professional opportunities.
Before the Civil War, free and enslaved African American laborers constructed the academical village and worked as janitors, cooks, and groundskeepers. During the first half of the 20th century, African American employees provided critical support in the Hospital as nurses’ aides, technicians, housekeepers, clerks, and orderlies. With the rise of the civil rights movement, the 1950s and 1960s saw the appointment of the first African American staff supervisors at the Hospital and marked the admission of the first African American students to the Schools of Medicine and Nursing.
Burley High School graduates of the Practical Nursing program, 1954, prints20155
“Everyday People” highlights historical photographs from the collections of the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library and documents some of the many courageous pioneers who forged new pathways in medicine and nursing at UVA. The exhibit will be on display in the lobby of the Health Sciences Library until April 20, 2019. We also encourage you to visit the exhibitions at Harrison Small (also on display until April 20, 2019), and the Law Library (on display through the end of February 2019). The title “Everyday People,” which is shared by all three exhibitions, refers to a 1968 song by the artist Sly and the Family Stone. For more information about the exhibition, contact Emily Bowden in Historical Collections & Services at eab3w@virginia.edu.