Wakefield-Paillet, Emma
unknown-1939 · Contribution: 1898
First African American woman to earn a medical degree (1897) and to practice medicine in Louisiana
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Became the first African-American woman to practice medicine in the state of Louisiana, expanding access to medical care for Black patients in the Deep South during a period of severe segregation in medicine.
Life & background
A physician, Wakefield-Paillet became the first African-American woman physician in Louisiana in 1898, practicing medicine during a period when Black patients in the Deep South had extremely limited access to medical care from physicians of their own race.
Sources
- 64 Parishes (LSU / Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities); Hayes & Simon, *Were You There?* (2025); Iberia African American Historical Society historical marker (2018)
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