Racism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries prevented lots of newly freed African Americans from receiving adequate healthcare. It also gatekept talented African American physicians from joining primarily White-serving hospitals and professional medical societies. To combat this issue, African American medical professionals took it upon themselves to create their own inclusive spaces. This lesson focuses on the establishment of medical institutions and societies, for the purposes of better serving the African American community and providing spaces for African American medical professionals to hone their medical skills and share knowledge.

Note: This Learning Lab is a product of a collaboration between the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). As a result of this partnership, a team of teachers created a curriculum that explored a variety of topics associated with the life and experiences of Henrietta Lacks. The original lessons from this project can be found at https://www.unlockinglifescode.org/hela/.