The doctor felt the thrill of discovery shoot through his body as he looked through the microscope. He’d found it!
He ran to the office, typed up his report, and rushed it to the post office. But would they listen to his groundbreaking discovery?
Grandson of formerly enslaved people, Solomon Carter Fuller, not only struggled to become a respected psychiatrist but was paid far less than colleagues and relegated to the morgue. Why?
White supremacy. Not only did his colleagues arrogantly refuse to credit him for his groundbreaking discoveries on Alzheimer’s disease, but they also ignored diseases in Black soldiers returning from war. To them, Black bodies were innately inferior to white bodies.
But that gets worse.
Veterans at Fuller’s facility were being wrongfully misdiagnosed for side effects of syphilis, causing them to be denied military benefits even though they’d risked their LIVES fighting for a racist country!
Because of his autopsies and expertise in brain diseases, Solomon’s discoveries saved the lives and livelihoods of countless soldiers.
Fuller’s determination and brilliance saved Black lives. We must all take up areas of influence to support our people in this liberation struggle.