In Hogarth’s Medicalizing Blackness, healthcare differences between the white population and the non-white population are discussed. Hogarth uses a variety of examples of early medical care for slaves; one such as the Caribbean. Jamaica, a major sugar producer, held a large slave population. Naturally, slaves would acquire wounds or infections in which they would need medical assistance for. Throughout the period of slavery in Jamaica, from when the British first discovered it in 1655 up to 1834, slaves were used and obtained injuries from their work. Hospitals were set up specifically for non-whites. However, quality of care was an explicit difference between the two buildings. After a hurricane hit Jamaica and destroyed many buildings; builders took haste to erect a new white hospital. Meanwhile, it would take another 4 years for a hospital for non-whites to be built. Improvements in quality of life were made for slaves upon the passing of legislation known as “The Act.” This act brought about limits on torture and required that food and medicine be given to slaves. Did building hospitals and improving quality for non-whites represent a growing humanitarian view towards slaves? Possibly, but it is more likely that ‘the concern for slaves welfare blended with the desire to ensure that their bodies would be able to achieve maximum utility, in this case, producing future laborers.’ (Hogarth 139) There were obvious differences between medical treatment for whites and non-whites during the 18th and 19th centuries in Jamaica. Even though some legislation did improve the quality of life for slaves, it also limited their freedom. The white anxieties of the time shows the distrust and tension between the two races during the time.
I am going to preface the rest of my writing by saying that I am unsure of the format expected. I am unsure whether it be formal or informal. I think when talking about race, formal language does it best to not step on toes but more often than not it does. However, informal language lacks precision and is open to misinterpretation by anyone but, it can often get a point or idea across better because it lacks the rigidity of formal language.
A few things I found interesting about the readings are the realization by white slave holders in Jamaica that their slaves will need medical attention. Not necessarily to the benefit of the slaves but, to the benefit of the white slave holder. Sadly, similar to that of a draft horse visiting a veterinarian. Also, the rebuilding of the white hospital after the hurricane was finished within the year. So, in less than four months slave labor had built a hospital for the white man again. I am curious to know if the slave hospital was built to the same degree as the white hospital. If so, then why could it not be built in less than four months as well?
Throughout “Medicalizing Blackness” by Rana Hogarth, we see the subjugation and destitutions that black patients experienced when seeking medical attention in the 18th and 19th. Particularly in Kinston, Jamaica, one of the main reasons for the development of the public slave hospital was “based on the notion that black bodies were dangerous and in need of constant white supervision…[and] functioned as a reminder of white planters’ collective authority” (Hogarth 133-4). Black patients were degraded to teaching materials and used to explore experimental questions rather than being provided with adequate care. But why, if supposedly inferior, were black bodies used primarily for scientific research? Due to the lack of attention, and adversities, black patients received in hospitals they often turned to healers in an effort to acquire non-racialized care. We see the trend of enlisting healers to provide medical treatment continue in the turn of the twentieth century where the treatments “were less expensive than a physician’s services and had the potential to be just as effective” (Pohl 182). Enlisting the help of healers was highly criticized by white physicians. But why, if not providing adequate treatment, should white physicians concern themselves with what type of care black patients seek? We have observed that “the creation of a public slave hospital in black majority slave societies served a number of purposes, many of which were not tied to altruism” (Hogarth 134). Because of the racial prejudices that fueled these unethical practices, we continue to observe the lingering effects in the health care system today.
Works Cited
Hogarth, Rana A. “That the Asylum for Deserted Negroes in Now Complete for Their Reception: Surveillance and Sickness in Jamaica” and “For the Acquisition of Practical Knowledge: Genealogies of Medical Exploitation in the South,” Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, University of North Carolina Press, 2017, pp. 133-186.
Pohl, L. M. “African American Southerners and White Physicians: Medical Care at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 86 no. 2, 2012, pp. 178-205. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/bhm.2012.0022.
Throughout the reading of Medicalizing Blackness, there were quite a few things mentioned by Hogarth that stuck out to me, below are the two pieces of information that I found myself most intrigued by.
To start, I found it extremely ironic that after the hurricane of 1784 destroyed both the white and black hospitals, that the white hospital was rebuilt four years before the slave hospital was rebuilt. Given that Jamaica is a predominantly black island country, one would think that the black hospital would have been reconstructed long before the white one. However, after the many conversations we’ve had about white privilege so far in this class, I should not be saying that I am shocked by this.
Another piece of information that peaked my interest in this writing was that it was most common that African Americans would only go to other African Americans for medical advice after being freed from slavery. While I can understand why they would have issues with trusting white doctors during this time frame, I still find it to be incredibly dangerous that they refused to see medical professionals with a different race then themselves. Given the fact that the “healers” they were visiting for treatment were not skilled or trained medical professionals, this act of defiance was detrimental to their health. This part of Hogarth’s work reminded me of the conversation that took place in class last week about “wanting a doctor that looks like you”.
Throughout the chapters from Medicalizing Blackness, I found myself stunned at the several different origins that motivated health care of the black populations during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These motivations that drove physicians to treat slaves devised not from one’s selflessness, but rather from fear and potential personal gain. In Jamaica, the creation of the hospital in Kingston for the black population was motivated by Kingston’s white population’s fear of uprisings coming from the oppressed slaves and the “freedom” of people of color. The fear associated with the white population from Jamaica, in my opinion, originates from the potential “power struggle” the white population would face if the black population were to rebel and gain authority in Jamaica. To avoid mutiny and loss of power, Jamaica’s white population built a hospital where the black population would be watched and confined into a central location. The Kingston Hospital was not built to give the black population fair health care, but instead it was used as an “apparatus of colonial control used to police Kingston’s black population” (Hogarth 134). Alongside their fear of losing power, the white population also constructed hospitals, like the one in Kingston, in order to gain new insights into medicine and the human body. White physicians were influenced by personal gain and often used black bodies for exploratory procedures and would later use them for instruction in medical colleges. The carelessness seen during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have not ceased to exist. In my opinion, we still find variations of these self-centered motivations influence how medical professionals treat minorities in the health care system. I think that most medical professionals do not care about the well-being of minorities, due to implicit biases, but rather the pay check they will receive.
Upon reading “Medicalizing blackness” by Rana A. Hogarth, I have come to understand the difference in society during 19th century and the persecution of which slaves have had to endure during this time of medical studies. Of the two chapters that I have read, it was brought to my attention that slaves could go almost nowhere during this time for true sympathy or help within the South. The establishment of the Hospital and Asylum for Deserted Negroes led slaves, freed slaves, and even poor whites, were able to obtain medical care. However, soon numerous physicians advertised for other hospitals of which they claimed to help the same set of patients. Nevertheless, most time patients that were sent to these hospitals were used for testing and as a teaching strategy to other physicians, rather than obtaining the needed care. Some slave owners would approve dissections of their slaves for medical studies, and this alone was an astonishing piece of information that I could not seem to come to terms with. I found these chapters to be extremely intriguing, and from what I have read, I can say that through some of the hospitals the slaves were treated more or less as lab rats. Although, there were certain points in the reading that stated some physician’s would give proper attention to the poor and slave community, and that important surgeries were offered. Regardless, the chapters also detailed the doings of an old sugar warehouse, of which was turned into a workhouse and a place for slave owners to send their disobedient slaves to be brutally punished. These workhouses and hospitals were based on the idea that black people could receive basic care, but were looked upon as untrustworthy and needing of supervision from the whites. Most of the reading gave detail of the physicians luring slaves to their establishment, only to be used for studies and experiments. The black community grew intensely, allowing white physicians to have more bodies for their studies. Slaves would often confide in black “healers,” however, this was very much disliked by the whites because it took away from their bodies, and soon it caused issues if blacks were caught obtaining care from non-whites. I found so much of this reading interesting, that I may read it again to obtain a greater understanding of the situation that blacks of the time had to endure. I was truly astonished by the fact that the slave/poor population had nowhere to obtain sufficient help, even of the places and people most known for and looked to for healing.
When reading "Medicalizing Blackness" by Rana A Hogarth two main ideas jumped out to men personally when I finished my readings. The first main idea came from chapter 5 of the passage in that what I perceived from the writing is an immense sense of fear. On the island of Jamaica, 90% of the population was made of slaves. This created a culture of fear for the slave masters I believe and lead to the beginnings of treating the slaves as humans somewhat and not as property or farm animals. The fear of rebellion from the slaves led to the need for discipline on the plantations and in the slave hospitals. Slave masters felt they needed to control and constantly have their slaves watched to prevent these rebellions which would surely result in the slave owners death. So the slave owners did everything possible to instill this discipline and sense of fear into their slaves and also preventing them from congregating at all. The second main idea came to me from the end of chapter 6. It was this sort of irony of basically the use of deceased slaves led to the beginning of surgeons and physicians we have today. It was also this irony that slaves were said to be inferior and completely different in all aspects of whites but it is needed by white pre med physicians and surgeons to dissect and learn the ins and outs and everything about the human body but the bodies being studied and dissected were those that are also being promoted as being less in every aspect of life as the whites. This is what interested me from the readings that the slaves were taken granted for but basically and in all reality are responsible for the birth of modern physicians and medicine in the United States.
In Hogarth’s Medicalizing Blackness, healthcare differences between the white population and the non-white population are discussed. Hogarth uses a variety of examples of early medical care for slaves; one such as the Caribbean. Jamaica, a major sugar producer, held a large slave population. Naturally, slaves would acquire wounds or infections in which they would need medical assistance for.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the period of slavery in Jamaica, from when the British first discovered it in 1655 up to 1834, slaves were used and obtained injuries from their work. Hospitals were set up specifically for non-whites. However, quality of care was an explicit difference between the two buildings. After a hurricane hit Jamaica and destroyed many buildings; builders took haste to erect a new white hospital. Meanwhile, it would take another 4 years for a hospital for non-whites to be built.
Improvements in quality of life were made for slaves upon the passing of legislation known as “The Act.” This act brought about limits on torture and required that food and medicine be given to slaves. Did building hospitals and improving quality for non-whites represent a growing humanitarian view towards slaves? Possibly, but it is more likely that ‘the concern for slaves welfare blended with the desire to ensure that their bodies would be able to achieve maximum utility, in this case, producing future laborers.’ (Hogarth 139)
There were obvious differences between medical treatment for whites and non-whites during the 18th and 19th centuries in Jamaica. Even though some legislation did improve the quality of life for slaves, it also limited their freedom. The white anxieties of the time shows the distrust and tension between the two races during the time.
I am going to preface the rest of my writing by saying that I am unsure of the format expected. I am unsure whether it be formal or informal. I think when talking about race, formal language does it best to not step on toes but more often than not it does. However, informal language lacks precision and is open to misinterpretation by anyone but, it can often get a point or idea across better because it lacks the rigidity of formal language.
ReplyDeleteA few things I found interesting about the readings are the realization by white slave holders in Jamaica that their slaves will need medical attention. Not necessarily to the benefit of the slaves but, to the benefit of the white slave holder. Sadly, similar to that of a draft horse visiting a veterinarian.
Also, the rebuilding of the white hospital after the hurricane was finished within the year. So, in less than four months slave labor had built a hospital for the white man again. I am curious to know if the slave hospital was built to the same degree as the white hospital. If so, then why could it not be built in less than four months as well?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThroughout “Medicalizing Blackness” by Rana Hogarth, we see the subjugation and destitutions that black patients experienced when seeking medical attention in the 18th and 19th. Particularly in Kinston, Jamaica, one of the main reasons for the development of the public slave hospital was “based on the notion that black bodies were dangerous and in need of constant white supervision…[and] functioned as a reminder of white planters’ collective authority” (Hogarth 133-4). Black patients were degraded to teaching materials and used to explore experimental questions rather than being provided with adequate care. But why, if supposedly inferior, were black bodies used primarily for scientific research?
ReplyDeleteDue to the lack of attention, and adversities, black patients received in hospitals they often turned to healers in an effort to acquire non-racialized care. We see the trend of enlisting healers to provide medical treatment continue in the turn of the twentieth century where the treatments “were less expensive than a physician’s services and had the potential to be just as effective” (Pohl 182). Enlisting the help of healers was highly criticized by white physicians. But why, if not providing adequate treatment, should white physicians concern themselves with what type of care black patients seek?
We have observed that “the creation of a public slave hospital in black majority slave societies served a number of purposes, many of which were not tied to altruism” (Hogarth 134). Because of the racial prejudices that fueled these unethical practices, we continue to observe the lingering effects in the health care system today.
Works Cited
Hogarth, Rana A. “That the Asylum for Deserted Negroes in Now Complete for Their Reception: Surveillance and Sickness in Jamaica” and “For the Acquisition of Practical Knowledge: Genealogies of Medical Exploitation in the South,” Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840, University of North Carolina Press, 2017, pp. 133-186.
Pohl, L. M. “African American Southerners and White Physicians: Medical Care at the Turn of the Twentieth Century,” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 86 no. 2, 2012, pp. 178-205. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/bhm.2012.0022.
Throughout the reading of Medicalizing Blackness, there were quite a few things mentioned by Hogarth that stuck out to me, below are the two pieces of information that I found myself most intrigued by.
ReplyDeleteTo start, I found it extremely ironic that after the hurricane of 1784 destroyed both the white and black hospitals, that the white hospital was rebuilt four years before the slave hospital was rebuilt. Given that Jamaica is a predominantly black island country, one would think that the black hospital would have been reconstructed long before the white one. However, after the many conversations we’ve had about white privilege so far in this class, I should not be saying that I am shocked by this.
Another piece of information that peaked my interest in this writing was that it was most common that African Americans would only go to other African Americans for medical advice after being freed from slavery. While I can understand why they would have issues with trusting white doctors during this time frame, I still find it to be incredibly dangerous that they refused to see medical professionals with a different race then themselves. Given the fact that the “healers” they were visiting for treatment were not skilled or trained medical professionals, this act of defiance was detrimental to their health. This part of Hogarth’s work reminded me of the conversation that took place in class last week about “wanting a doctor that looks like you”.
Throughout the chapters from Medicalizing Blackness, I found myself stunned at the several different origins that motivated health care of the black populations during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These motivations that drove physicians to treat slaves devised not from one’s selflessness, but rather from fear and potential personal gain. In Jamaica, the creation of the hospital in Kingston for the black population was motivated by Kingston’s white population’s fear of uprisings coming from the oppressed slaves and the “freedom” of people of color. The fear associated with the white population from Jamaica, in my opinion, originates from the potential “power struggle” the white population would face if the black population were to rebel and gain authority in Jamaica. To avoid mutiny and loss of power, Jamaica’s white population built a hospital where the black population would be watched and confined into a central location. The Kingston Hospital was not built to give the black population fair health care, but instead it was used as an “apparatus of colonial control used to police Kingston’s black population” (Hogarth 134). Alongside their fear of losing power, the white population also constructed hospitals, like the one in Kingston, in order to gain new insights into medicine and the human body. White physicians were influenced by personal gain and often used black bodies for exploratory procedures and would later use them for instruction in medical colleges. The carelessness seen during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have not ceased to exist. In my opinion, we still find variations of these self-centered motivations influence how medical professionals treat minorities in the health care system. I think that most medical professionals do not care about the well-being of minorities, due to implicit biases, but rather the pay check they will receive.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading “Medicalizing blackness” by Rana A. Hogarth, I have come to understand the difference in society during 19th century and the persecution of which slaves have had to endure during this time of medical studies. Of the two chapters that I have read, it was brought to my attention that slaves could go almost nowhere during this time for true sympathy or help within the South. The establishment of the Hospital and Asylum for Deserted Negroes led slaves, freed slaves, and even poor whites, were able to obtain medical care. However, soon numerous physicians advertised for other hospitals of which they claimed to help the same set of patients. Nevertheless, most time patients that were sent to these hospitals were used for testing and as a teaching strategy to other physicians, rather than obtaining the needed care. Some slave owners would approve dissections of their slaves for medical studies, and this alone was an astonishing piece of information that I could not seem to come to terms with. I found these chapters to be extremely intriguing, and from what I have read, I can say that through some of the hospitals the slaves were treated more or less as lab rats. Although, there were certain points in the reading that stated some physician’s would give proper attention to the poor and slave community, and that important surgeries were offered. Regardless, the chapters also detailed the doings of an old sugar warehouse, of which was turned into a workhouse and a place for slave owners to send their disobedient slaves to be brutally punished. These workhouses and hospitals were based on the idea that black people could receive basic care, but were looked upon as untrustworthy and needing of supervision from the whites. Most of the reading gave detail of the physicians luring slaves to their establishment, only to be used for studies and experiments. The black community grew intensely, allowing white physicians to have more bodies for their studies. Slaves would often confide in black “healers,” however, this was very much disliked by the whites because it took away from their bodies, and soon it caused issues if blacks were caught obtaining care from non-whites. I found so much of this reading interesting, that I may read it again to obtain a greater understanding of the situation that blacks of the time had to endure. I was truly astonished by the fact that the slave/poor population had nowhere to obtain sufficient help, even of the places and people most known for and looked to for healing.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading "Medicalizing Blackness" by Rana A Hogarth two main ideas jumped out to men personally when I finished my readings. The first main idea came from chapter 5 of the passage in that what I perceived from the writing is an immense sense of fear. On the island of Jamaica, 90% of the population was made of slaves. This created a culture of fear for the slave masters I believe and lead to the beginnings of treating the slaves as humans somewhat and not as property or farm animals. The fear of rebellion from the slaves led to the need for discipline on the plantations and in the slave hospitals. Slave masters felt they needed to control and constantly have their slaves watched to prevent these rebellions which would surely result in the slave owners death. So the slave owners did everything possible to instill this discipline and sense of fear into their slaves and also preventing them from congregating at all. The second main idea came to me from the end of chapter 6. It was this sort of irony of basically the use of deceased slaves led to the beginning of surgeons and physicians we have today. It was also this irony that slaves were said to be inferior and completely different in all aspects of whites but it is needed by white pre med physicians and surgeons to dissect and learn the ins and outs and everything about the human body but the bodies being studied and dissected were those that are also being promoted as being less in every aspect of life as the whites. This is what interested me from the readings that the slaves were taken granted for but basically and in all reality are responsible for the birth of modern physicians and medicine in the United States.
ReplyDelete