Physicians

Dr. Bell is a Black physician and relates the limitations placed upon him because of his race. He was interviewed concerning his opinions and experiences in relation to the history of Blacks in Louisville.

Dr. Bell discusses his early life and education, including his training at Alcorn College, Morehouse College, and Meharry Medical College. He discusses his involvement with the Red Cross Hospital, a Black-run hospital in Louisville that was known as Community Hospital starting in 1972. (The hospital, founded in 1899, closed in 1975.) Dr. Bell became involved with the hospital in the early 1940s, and discusses the developments there, including the institution of a nurses' training program, integration, fundraising, and other issues. He discusses the clientele of the hospital as well as the care they received. He also talks about the loss to the Black community at the closing of the hospital, and the apparent lack of loyalty the community had to the institution. He discusses Hattie Bishop Speed, as a person and as a supporter of the hospital.

Harold Berg grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended elementary and secondary school. His parents had come to the US from Russia. Berg's father attended trade school and worked as a plumber in New York. Harold came to Louisville to attend the University of Louisville for his pre-medical and medical education. Berg received his MD and completed his internship before being drafted in the US Army during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater as a surgeon and after the war returned to the US to complete his residency in surgery. Since 1951 he has practiced in Louisville. Berg is also known for his work in mosaics, examples of which were on display at the Jewish Community Center and the School of Medicine at the University of Louisville at the time of the interview.

Albert Goldin, a white physician, discusses his association with Red Cross (later Community) Hospital during the last years of its existence. He recalls the role of the board of directors, the failure of the institution, and the relationship between the Black and Jewish medical communities in Louisville.

Johnson discusses his role as administrator of Red Cross (Community) Hospital; the problems confronting him and the hospital; and why the hospital failed to survive.

Keller discusses his father's medical practice in Louisville's Portland neighborhood; his student days in the College of Arts and Sciences (B.A. 1930) and the School of Medicine of the University of Louisville (M.D. 1931); his internship at the Louisville City Hospital; Dr. John Walker Moore, Dean of the School of Medicine from 1929 1949; his residency in psychiatry at John Hopkins University and in New York City; and his career as a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Louisville.

Dr. Overstreet (M.D. 1923) discusses life in the medical school at the University of Louisville from 1919 to 1923, his residency at Louisville City Hospital during the mid-1920s, and experiences in over fifty years of medical practice in Louisville.

Dr. Rabb discusses his early life and education in Mississippi. He speaks of his experiences as a student at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, comparing race relations in his hometown to those in Nashville. He also discusses student activism at Fisk while he was a student. He describes his medical education at Meharry Medical College, and his internship at Kansas City General Hospital Number 2, the segregated public hospital for blacks in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Rabb practiced in Shelbyville, Kentucky from 1930 to 1946, and he discusses his practice there, including his relationships with the white physicians in town. Rabb left Shelbyville for Louisville, and he discusses the difficulties that led him to make that move. He talks about his move to Louisville and the support (in the form of office space) he received from Dr. C. Milton Young, Jr. He goes on to discuss his work at Red Cross Hospital, and how he came to be the first African American admitted for post-graduate training at Louisville General Hospital. He describes other areas of integration, including the University of Louisville and its athletic programs. He talks about his leadership role in Louisville's Human Relations Commission, particularly in the area of integrating the police force. He describes his own encounters with racism, the changes he's seen over time, and his role in the sit-ins in Louisville in 1960. He also talks about the integration of public housing. He notes that his proudest achievement is his involvement with the NAACP; he was also a founder of the Kentucky Civil Liberties Union.

Eric Tachau discusses his almost twenty years of service on the board of directors of Red Cross (Community) Hospital. He describes the work of the various administrators, the problems confronting the board members, and the reasons for the hospital's failure.

Dr. Walls, who was intimately connected with the Red Cross Hospital in Louisville from 1918 until he retired in 1968, discusses the early history of the hospital with particular emphasis on its role in the Black Community.