Dorothy Lavinia Brown was the first African American female surgeon in the South. She was born on January 7, 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was only five-months old, her unmarried mother placed her in the Troy Orphanage. She lived at the orphanage until she was thirteen years old. Dorothy was a very bright child and was the best student at the orphanage every year.

Dorothy first became interested in medicine at the age of five when she had her tonsils taken out. Her excitement at what was happening led to her deciding that she wanted a career in medicine. Many people doubted that she would become a doctor, but she never let their opinions get in the way of her dream.

At the age of thirteen, Dorothy's mother came and took her out of the orphanage, but they did not get along very well. Dorothy ran away from home four times. She was then placed as a mother's helper in Mrs. W.F. Jarrett's house. Mrs. Jarrett encouraged Dorothy's desire to become a doctor. She returned to Troy to finish her education and came to live in the home of Samuel and Lola Redmon. They became her foster parents. The Redmons were very supportive of Dorothy and provided her with security. Through all her struggles Dorothy completed high school and was ready to pursue her dream of becoming a physician.

After high school, she was able to obtain a scholarship to Bennett College through the Women's Division of Christian Service of the Methodist Church in Troy. She received her Bachelor's of Arts degree in 1941 and graduated second in her class. To save money for medical school, she worked as an inspector at a defense plant in Troy. In 1944 she enrolled at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. With the financial help of the churchwomen, she was able to graduate in 1948 in the top third of her class.

Dorothy then became an intern at Harlem hospital in New York. There was a strong opposition to female surgeons at the time and she was denied a surgical residency. She did not let this stop her from trying to become a surgeon. She went back to Meharry and convinced the chief of surgery, Matthew Walker, to give her a residency there. Her residency was completed in 1954. Dorothy Brown became the first African American female surgeon in the South.

Brown served as the educational director of the Riverside-Meharry Clinical Rotation Program and the chief of surgery at Riverside. She then became the attending surgeon at George W. Hubbard Hospital and professor of surgery at the Meharry Medical College.

In addition to being the first African American female surgeon in the South, she also became the first single woman in Tennessee to adopt a child. At the age of forty, an unmarried young woman approached her and offered her child for adoption. Dorothy named her new daughter Lola Redmon in honor of her foster mother.

Dorothy also became involved in politics. In 1966 she became the first African American woman to be elected to the Tennessee State Legislature for a two-year term. She tried in 1968 to run for a seat in the Tennessee Senate, but lost. One of the main reasons she lost the election was her support to liberalize the abortion laws in Tennessee.

She is a fellow of the American College of Surgery. She is a past member of the board of trustees at Bennett College. Dorothy is also a member of the United Methodist Church as well as Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dorothy speaks often on panels for scientific, religious, medical, and political topics. She has written many essays and inspirational guides. She belongs to the United Methodist Church. She has also been given honorary degrees in Humanities form Bennett College and Cumberland University.

"My basic philosophy of life is the belief that we are here for a purpose-each of us being endowed with multiple talents; our charge is to develop one or as many of these talents as possible and to use these talents and the days of our living to glorify God. Therefore I must "Run to Live," and I must seek to serve in as many different areas of endeavor as I can."

Bibliography

Smith, Jesse Camey, ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale Research Inc, ©1992

Hine, Darlene Clark, ed. Black Women in America An Historical Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 New York, ©1993

Julie McKenzie

Denita Denhart