The records of the Kellogg African American Health Care Project have been kept in the original order in which they were received and have been divided into two chronological series: Phase I and Phase II, reflecting the two separate accessions that were received. The interviews in the Phase I series were conducted in 1997 and accessioned by the Bentley Historical Library in 1998, while the interviews in Phase II were conducted from 1997 through 1999 and accessioned by the library in 2000. Both of these series have a similar order and arrangement, differing mainly in who was interviewed; in addition, there is some updating of administrative papers in the 2000 accession. Both series are divided into two subseries: Administrative Files and Interviews. A description of the subseries for both of the series is below.
The Administrative Files subseries contains the organizational and background materials for the project including copies of the signed consent forms. This subseries gives several access tools for the interview portion of the collection as well as detailed information regarding the interview methodology. A Master Index and a Tape Index allow access by topic to both the transcripts and the tape-recorded material. Material related to follow-up research and further studies is also available.
The Interviews subseries contains the transcripts and tape recordings of the individual interviews. This subseries is organized alphabetically by the name of each person interviewed. A biographical sketch is provided for each individual and in some cases, copies of publications, photographs or computer-generated images of the participant, resumes, and news clippings are also included. In the Phase I series, the cassette tapes containing the interviews are included within each person's file. In the Phase II series, the tapes are stored separately.
List of Subjects Interviewed
- Anderson, William G.
- Ayala, Reginald
- Boddie, Arthur W.
- Brakefield-Caldwell, Wilma
- Bryant, Jr., Henry Clay
- Burton, Alice
- Cain, Waldo L.
- Collins, James W.
- Cooper, Claude H.
- Cooper, Vivienne B.
- Dillard, Gladys B.
- Gaines, Jr., George D.
- Gant, Leon
- Glass, Herman J.
- Goodwin, Della M.
- Harris, Joseph B.
- Iacobell, Frank P.
- Jefferson, Horace L.
- Jenkins, Sidney B.
- Johnson, Arthur L.
- Keith, Rachel B.
- Lawson, William E.
- Love, Josephine H.
- McCree, Suesetta
- Maben, Jr., Hayward C.
- Mason, Berna
- Mottley, Dorothy
- Northcross, Jr., David C.
- Northcross, Ophelia B.
- Peebles-Meyers, Marjorie
- Raiford, III, Frank P.
- Roberson, Jr., Rev. Garther
- Roberson, Rev. Dr. S.L.
- Smith, Elsie
- Starks, Fannie L.
- Swan, Lionel F.
- Tanner, Natalia M.
- Todd, Oretta Mae
- Webb, Irma Clara
- Whitten, Charles F.
- Wright, Charles H.
- Young, Watson
In 1997, the University of Michigan's Historical Center for the Health Sciences received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to accumulate resources relating to African American health care in southeast Michigan in the 1940s to 1960s. The resulting oral history project contains valuable information regarding the issues of racial discrimination, labor and migration patterns and health care, and the attitudes of African Americans concerning the past health care system.
Even though Black-owned hospitals were in existence during this period and African Americans served as health care professionals, information regarding the African American experience was not well documented or has not been retained. Researchers in charge of the project, Ronald Amos and George Myers, thought that the best remaining sources of information would come from the patients, doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators themselves. Representatives from the Detroit Urban League, the Detroit Medical Society, the National Association of Black Nurses, and other organizations also participated in the study.
Other components of the study include the accumulation of historical medical records, a Web site and other digital records relating to African American health care, and materials from two national conferences. The first conference, entitled "The First Conference on Health Care Experiences of African Americans in Southeastern Michigan: How the Past Affects the Future," was held on October 29, 1997, and featured speakers on topics such as a historic perspective on genetic screening programs for diseases commonly found only in the African American community, dementia care for African Americans, and the problems with managed care. A second National Conference, with the theme of "How the Past Shapes Today and Tomorrow," took place in February of 1999, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and is also documented here. Its focus was the history and the effects in society today of segregated health care.
The project ended in the summer of the year 2000. An exhibit entitled "Helping Hands," featuring historic photos, documents, and articles on the African American health care experience in southeastern Michigan, continues to tour the Detroit area.
This record group does not contain the original documentation. Due to the importance of this study, several sets of records were created and were distributed to various archives, including the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University, the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, and the Center for Afro-American and African Studies at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
