100-year-old artifacts discovered in home that once served as hospital for Blacks
December marks the 100th anniversary
of the Juanita Coleman Hospital
Hospital served Black patients in
Demopolis, Alabama during Jim Crow
Discrimination prevented Black
physicians from working at facility
Hospital artifacts discovered in attic
nearly a century later
Mary Jones Fitts and her mother always enjoyed
returning home to Demopolis, Alabama. Back in 2010, they were cruising through
their old neighborhood when her mother, Mary Ida Calhoun, 85, casually pointed
at a one-story blue house on East Washington Street.
“That was the Juanita Coleman Hospital,” said her
mother.
Jones Fitts was puzzled. “Who was Juanita Coleman?”
“She was a Black lady from Tuskegee who came to
Demopolis and found out there was not a hospital for Black people,” said her
mother. “So, she built this hospital.”
This was a life-changing conversation for Jones Fitts.
It was the first time her mother mentioned the name Juanita Coleman or that a
Black woman founded a hospital in west central Alabama – during the Jim Crow
era. The revelation was even more surprising because Jones Fitts is the
former director and president of the local Marengo County History and Archives
Museum. Black history was her passion and she had absolutely no record of
Juanita Coleman.
The revelation inspired Jones Fitts to dig for more
information and bring the Juanita Coleman story to life. But in this Alabama
community where Black people make up roughly half of the population, Jones
Fitts was frustrated that more people did not know this story. She encountered
some Black residents who were old enough to remember the Juanita Coleman
Hospital but expressed a reluctance to talk about the painful history of
discrimination that made an all-Black hospital necessary for survival.
“No more,” Jones Fitts told herself. “It’s time to tell
our stories.”
Backstory
Nannie Juanita Coleman was born August 5, 1885, in
Temple, Texas. After high school, Coleman studied at The Tuskegee Normal and
Industrial Institute in Alabama where she graduated in 1908.
Coleman’s earliest achievements are documented in a few books and research papers. In 1915, at the age of 30, The Tuskegee Institute hired Coleman as the first female home demonstration agent to uplift poor Black families with lessons in agriculture, health, and homemaking.
During her years as a demonstration agent, Coleman had
an important mentor by her side – Margaret Murray Washington. Washington was one
of the most influential women in America as the principal of Tuskegee Institute
and the widow of Booker T. Washington.
Under Mrs. Washington’s guidance, Coleman stages what
might have been her most significant achievement. She raised money to secure
space and furnishings to fulfill medical needs for the Black community in
Demopolis. In 1923, Coleman purchased a house on Washington Street.
2015 discovery – side by side comparison of an unidentified portrait (left) discovered in the attic of a Demopolis, Alabama home, formerly, the Juanita Coleman Hospital. The portrait bears a strong resemblance to Margaret Murray Washington (right) who served as a mentor to Coleman. Washington led Tuskegee Institute and was the widow of Booker T. Washington. The portrait is on display at Marengo County historical society museum.
Juanita Coleman Hospital dedication
Hospital dedication article published in The Montgomery Advertiser, December 15, 1923
On December 15, 1923, The Montgomery Advertiser
announced the opening of the Juanita Coleman Hospital. Approximately 600 people
attended the dedication. The event was held in the town’s Confederate Park.
The total cost of the 12-bed facility and the
furnishings was $6,000. Hospital superintendent Coleman is credited as the
owner and operator who invested $2,000 of her own savings (the equivalent of
$35,000 in 2023.) “The rest of the money was secured through donations from
those interested in the movement, “according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
Despite her significant financial stake, ownership and
naming rights, Juanita Coleman did not have complete autonomy over her hospital
operations. Coleman reported to a board of trustees consisting of three Black
and four White community leaders.
No Black doctors allowed
In 1923, The Selma Times Journal reported the purpose
of the new Juanita Coleman Hospital was to provide care for “colored patients
and training of colored nurses.” But there was one catch – Black doctors were
not allowed to practice medicine at the hospital. The ban is spelled out in a
single sentence near the end of the article “Only White doctors are to practice
in this hospital.” The article provides no further explanation or context.
It’s possible that White leaders in Demopolis
established discriminatory ground rules around Superintendent Coleman’s hospital
as a condition of support or to limit competition between Black and White
doctors. It’s also worth noting that a hospital exclusively for Black people also
provided an excuse for White hospitals to continue the long-standing practice
of denying medical services to Black people.
On the hospital’s fourth anniversary, The Demopolis
Times published a thank you letter from Coleman to the community for “splendid”
donations and financial help “thus making it possible for us to go a little
further,” she wrote.
The struggle to pay bills
Juanita Coleman’s hospital operated on “small fees paid
by patients and the generosity of the public”. A remarkable accomplishment,
especially during the Great Depression when the hospital temporarily closed its
doors. In the spring of 1931, Coleman took out an advertisement in the
Demopolis Times and announced the “reopening” of her hospital. This time,
she informs readers that the hospital doors will be open to “all licensed
physicians.” This appears to be Coleman’s victory in toppling the Black doctor
ban.
It’s unknown when the hospital officially closed. The
last known newspaper reference to her hospital is a furniture sale announcement
published in The Demopolis Times in 1953. At the same time, Coleman was working
in Washington D.C. as a counselor at an Industrial school for girls. Newspaper
accounts indicate Coleman travelled frequently between Washington D.C. and
Alabama.
So far, there has been no documentation of Coleman’s life
in the 1960’s. She died in 1973 and was buried in Maryland.
More amazing discoveries
Not long after the 2010 revelation about the Juanita
Coleman Hospital, Mary Jones Fitts returned to the blue house on Washington
Street. She met the owner, who was unaware of the building’s history. Walking
through the front door, Jones Fitts felt like she was stepping back into time.
Inside, she noticed a number affixed to each door in the central hallway. They
were the actual room numbers original to the hospital.
The discoveries continued several years later, when the homeowner found hospital artifacts in the attic including a white cabinet containing medical instruments. Perhaps the most valuable find was a framed painting of an unidentified woman. The painting bears a strong resemblance to Coleman’s mentor, Margaret Murray Washington, the wife of Booker T. Washington. Both items have been on display at the Marengo County history and archives museum as the only public exhibit of Juanita Coleman’s hospital.
Registered nurse Inez Taylor Drake, graduated from Prairie View A&M nursing school before joining Coleman in Demopolis as head nurse in 1925. (Evelyn Inez Drake Houston family collection)
Author’s note: I’ve known for many years that in the 1920’s, my grandmother, Inez Taylor
Drake RN was the head nurse at a hospital in Demopolis, Alabama. No one in my
family, including my 89-year-old mother, had ever heard of the name Juanita
Coleman. This led my family back into our
scrapbooks where we found a century-old Demopolis postcard. On the back, my
grandmother confirms what we never knew until now: “Sis Coleman introduces
me to folks as her head nurse from Texas,” my grandmother wrote home to her
younger sister. “Do you reckon I get to be somebody at last.”
Juanita Coleman Legacy
As a historian, Mary Jones Fitts believes she has a
responsibility to continue telling the story, especially when she encounters
life-long Demopolis residents who have never heard of the Juanita Coleman hospital.
“Coleman was a force to be reckoned with,” says Jones Fitts. “She definitely
left her mark.”
In addition to the legacy, Jones Fitts also thinks
about her own mother who died two years after the Juanita Coleman revelation.
What if her mother had remained quiet about this important piece of Black
history?
“I wouldn’t be the historian that I am today,” says
Jones Fitts. “My mother loved Demopolis. She loved the people that were here.
Learning about Juanita Coleman started me on a journey that I am still on
today.”
About the author: Carlton Houston is a former journalist, writer and historian. For more history
stories, follow Carlton on Instagram @myhistoryvibe
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