The Healers of Harlem

About this book

For readers who loved the previously untold history of Hidden Figures, an amazing story of the pioneering work done by Black women at one American hospital and how it shaped medical care in America. ★ "In her powerful debut, Chhita delivers a stirring and thoroughly researched account of the Black women whose work transformed both Harlem Hospital and American medicine.... Rich in historical detail and emotional resonance, this illuminating work gives long-overdue recognition to a remarkable group of trailblazers."--Publishers Weekly, starred review The story of the Harlem Hospital is entwined with the history of desegregation and the Civil Rights Movement in America. In this unique interdisciplinary history, Chhita chronicles the Harlem Hospital from its beginnings as a small hospital in the late nineteenth century to the day it saved Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life to its present form as a world-class medical facility. She focuses on four Black women who were instrumental in the long struggle to demolish racist barriers in the hospital and overcome anti-Black bias against its work after integration. Chhita spent years doing interviews and painstaking archival research, and the book features many previously unpublished primary sources which she skillfully weaves into a story of personal and collective struggle and triumph. A talented artist known for her portraits of trailblazing women in science on Instagram, Chhita's two-color illustrations will be featured throughout.