Harlem Hospital was founded in 1887; its mission was to provide health care for the burgeoning population north of Central Park. The hospital grew as the Harlem community grew; by 1907 it was replaced by a larger institution, a 150-bed facility located between 136th and 137th street on Lenox Avenue. Its history is deeply interwoven with the Harlem community. During the 1920’s and 1930’s it experienced a revolutionary change, as black physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers came on staff. There was much discrimination against blacks, especially against black physicians on staff. In 1926 the first black interns were accepted at Harlem Hospital. A prominent surgeon named Dr. Louis T. Wright, who joined the staff in 1919, was the first black physician on staff at any city hospital. Under Dr. Wright’s leadership, the black medical staff at the hospital would have a positive impact on the quality of medical care for not only the Harlem community, but for black people all across the United States.
Harlem Hospital was located in the hub of the cultural center of Harlem. In 1933, during the Great Depression, nearly 50 percent of black Americans were out of work. In 1935, The Works Progress Administration (WPA) under President Roosevelt was formed to address the widespread unemployment that plagued the country. The WPA established the Federal Art Project which was designed to employ artists. The WPA period is considered to be an important period of African American visual-art history. In 1936, the WPA commissioned 7 black artists to paint murals at Harlem Hospital, which was the first time the government commissions were awarded to blacks.
Four of the seven murals were opposed by Harlem Hospital’s white superintendent, and a major public controversy ensued. The superintendent objected to the artwork containing “too much Negro subject matter” and claimed that his hospital “was not a Negro hospital, so why should it be singled out for Negro subject matter.”
The obvious racism contained in these statements fueled a major public debate led by Dr. Louis Wright. The Harlem Artists Guild issued a statement condemning these views, and on February 22, 1936 the New York Times ran an article about the controversy. Eventually Harlem Hospital’s leadership backed down and the murals were accepted.
The Harlem Hospital murals were described in histories of African-American art by many notable writers and art historians. But they soon fell into obscurity and deteriorated. Only recently has Harlem Hospital committed to restoring the murals.
References
Bailey, Peter A. (1991) The harlem hospital story:100 years of struggle against illness, racism
and genocide. Richmond, VA: Native Sun Publishers
Columbia University Digital Knowledge Ventures. (2006) Harlem Hospital WPA Murals.
Retrieved October 3, 2007 from http://www.columbia.edu/cu/iraas/wpa/wpa/index.html
Harewood, Stephanie. (October 27, 2006) Harlem Hospital Center. Retrieved October 3, 2007 from
http://www.volunteernyc.org/org/2568802.html
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3 comments:
Hi,
I have been to Harlem Hospital and I have seen the murals that you are speaking about I didn't know the history of them, and the contraversy that goes along with them. I think you did a great job on this project.
Hello,
Really, this has been very educative. I had no idea the story behind those murals. I have Just realised the first black interns were accepted at Harlem Hospital in 1926, and in 1919 a prominent surgeon named Dr. Louis T. Wright, was the first black physician on staff at any city hospital.
Nice!
Hi Len,
It was very interesting to read about how Harlem hospital founded and what it went through. I did not know that before this assignment even I work in the health industry. I did check out the website of Harlem hospital before because try to search any jobs that I can apply but did
not go to that detail because I got a job in another company.
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