Brown, Dorothy Lavinia

Impact on the world

Became the first African-American female surgeon in the American South and the first Black woman elected to the Tennessee state legislature.

Life & background

A surgeon, Brown became the first African-American woman to practice general surgery in the American South, overcoming significant institutional barriers, and later became the first Black woman elected to serve in the Tennessee General Assembly.

Sources

1. National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity; NLM Changing the Face of Medicine; BlackPast.org; American College of Surgeons