Grace Marilyn James (1923 – 1989) was an American

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

in Louisville, Kentucky. When she began practicing medicine in 1953, the hospitals in Louisville were racially segregated by law. At the University of Louisville School of Medicine she was the first African-American physician on the faculty. She was also one of the first two African-American women on the faculty at any southern medical school. Additionally, she was first African-American woman to serve as an attending physician at Louisville's

Kosair Children's Hospital Norton Children's Hospital, formerly Kosair Children's Hospital, is a pediatric acute care children's hospital located in Louisville, Kentucky and affiliated with the University of Louisville School of Medicine. The hospital has 300 pediatric be ...

Early life and education

Grace Marilyn James was born in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

, in 1923 to Edward L. James, the owner of a produce company, and Stella Grace Shaw James, the manager of the local post office. James attended West Virginia State College. She completed post-graduate work at West Virginia State College and the University of Chicago. She graduated from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee with an M.D. degree in 1950. James relocated to New York City and completed a pediatric residency at

Harlem Hospital Harlem Hospital Center, branded as NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem, is a 272-bed, public teaching hospital affiliated with Columbia University. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City and was founded in 1887. The hosp ...

. Additionally, she studied

child psychiatry Child and adolescent psychiatry (or pediatric psychiatry) is a branch of psychiatry that focuses on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children, adolescents, and their families. It investigates the biopsychosocial fact ...

Creedmoor State Hospital Creedmoor Psychiatric Center is a psychiatric hospital at 79-26 Winchester Boulevard in Queens Village, Queens, New York, United States. It provides inpatient, outpatient and residential services for severely mentally ill patients. The hospital o ...

in Queens Village and becoming a fellow at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Pediatric career

James relocated to Louisville in 1953 to open a private pediatrics practice and a walk-in clinic for children living in Louisville's impoverished "West End". She worked for the Louisville city and Jefferson County Health Department, and was a pediatrician for the West End Day Care Center. James joined the University of Louisville School of Medicine as an instructor in child health. Over time she joined the staff of eight Louisville-area hospitals. She was the first African-American woman on the staff of Louisville Children's Hospital and one of only two black women on the faculty of a medical school located in the southern area of United States. James was the first African-American woman to be granted membership in the Jefferson County Medical Society.

Death and legacy

James was honored as a

Kentucky Women Remembered Kentucky Women Remembered is an exhibit in the Kentucky State Capitol that honors the contributions of women from the Commonwealth. The exhibit consists of over 60 watercolor portraits of outstanding Kentucky women. The Kentucky Commission on Wome ...

with her portrait was added to an exhibit in the Kentucky State Capital Rotunda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Grace Marilynn Physicians from Louisville, Kentucky 20th-century American women physicians 20th-century American physicians 1923 births 1989 deaths West Virginia State University alumni Meharry Medical College alumni People from Charleston, West Virginia University of Chicago alumni Physicians from West Virginia Physicians from Kentucky 20th-century African-American physicians American pediatricians Women pediatricians Women in Kentucky African-American women physicians 20th-century African-American women