8 minute read
In the Classroom
By HERB BOYD
Special to the AmNews
Several years ago when we first launched this column, Dr. May E. Chinn was one of the first entries. Recent discussion around her importance, particularly in Harlem, prompts us to return to this luminary and renew what should never be a forgotten personality. Chinn was born in 1896, the same year of the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, the birthplace of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. Her father was born into slavery in Virginia but he escaped when he was 11. Her mother was a Native American from the Chickahominy reservation near Norfolk, Va.
Chinn’s mother was a hardworking housekeeper for the famed Tiffany family, and this afforded her the opportunity to be exposed to an elite cultural background. In 1917, after only a rudimentary early education, she was accepted into Columbia University Teachers College.
At first her major was music, but this plan changed after she wrote a paper on hygiene and her professor encouraged her to use her gifts in medicine. By 1921 she was a student at the Bellevue Hospital and encountered both racial and female discrimination, but she persisted. Later, she was successful in obtaining an internship at Harlem Hospital and supplemented her training and income through private practice with a sanatorium on Edgecombe Avenue for non-white patients.
She was among a few doctors interested in early cancer diagnosis and subsequently studied cytological methods with Dr. George Papanicolaou, and this led to her becoming instrumental in developing the PAP smear test. In 1954, she became a member of the New York Academy of Science, and Columbia University awarded her an honorary doctorate in 1957 for her contributions to science. Marginalized patients, particularly in Harlem, were beneficiaries of her medical skills and compassion, which she dispensed for more than 50 years.
Chinn’s pioneering career brought in its wake such distinctions as being the first Black woman to graduate from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, and the first African American to hold an internship at Harlem Hospital. She was also an accomplished pianist and her early years often accompanied Paul Robeson. A wonderful moment when she first met the great singer, actor, activist is novelized in “Angel of Harlem” by Kuwana Haulsey. There is no way that she could have known factually much of what she has written, but the people she mentions, many of the incidents and historical citations are true. But here’s her take on Chinn’s first encounter with Robeson. “Pardon me Miss Chinn. I’m afraid my accompanist hasn’t arrived yet. And I understand that you are a marvelous accompanist. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me this afternoon? That voice,” Haulsey wrote, imagining Chinn’s response to Robeson’s request.
“I turned around and found myself at eye level with a golden Phi Beta Kappa key and an All-American football emblem,” the imagined Chinn related. “The pendants dangled from a watch chain across the barrel chest of a young man in a dark blue three-piece suit. We’d never met before, but like everyone else, I knew exactly who he was. “Of course, Paul,” I said, “I’d love to. “I looked right up into his face and thought, He must be the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. Seal brown skin. Wide nose. Hefty, cushioned lips. The gums like blackberries. He had the softest eyes in the world. The young man beamed at me, a broad full-rich smile that seemed to take in everything in the room, including my heart. Paul Robeson.
“He handed me his sheet music, then held his giant arm out for me to grab. ‘Shall we get started then? You know, I really appreciate this, May. I can call you May, can’t I? I’ve heard so much about you around town. It’s good to finally meet you in person.’
“My mouth fell open,” the novel continued. “Imagine, Paul Robeson telling me that he was glad we finally met! Incredible.”
And Haulsey’s novel goes on in such an incredible but believable way that you are never quite sure about the difference between the real and the imagined. In her book’s closing epitaph, Haulsey wrote, “The doctor lived quietly and alone, in the projects along LaSalle Avenue for all the later years of her life. Surrounded by her mother’s antique furniture and her memories, Dr. May settled into retirement in the late 1970s. Her eyes had begun to fail, and the city had changed. Better to leave the job to young people who’d come behind her.”
Before her death in 1980, Chinn pledged Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and the NY Metro Council provides a scholarship to a medical student in her name each year.
Dr. May E. Chinn, a trailblazing compassionate doctor
ACTIVITIES
FIND OUT MORE
Kuwana Haulsey’s “Angel in Harlem” can be complemented by an actual interview with Dr. Chinn at https://mps. lib.harvard.edu/sds/ audio/454935096.
DISCUSSION
It might have been informative to provide some of the meeting between the two from Robeson’s perspective, assuming there is some.
PLACE IN CONTEXT
As you can see Chinn was born near the end of the 19th century and lived almost to the end of the last century.
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY
Aug. 14, 1968: Actress Halle Berry was born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Aug. 15, 1938: Rep. Maxine Waters was born in St. Louis, Mo.
Aug. 15, 1927: Renowned pianist Oscar Peterson was born in Montreal, Ontario, Canada. He died in 2007.
ience and supports better overall outcomes.
While there have been efforts to support homeless individuals in exercising their right to vote, not enough research has been conducted to date to determine their efficacy.
Community-based organizations can provide voting support to individuals experiencing homelessness in the following ways: • Incorporating voter registration questions in intake forms • Registering individuals on-site (if possible) • Contacting the Board of Elections to obtain registration and poll site information • Assisting individuals in obtaining the appropriate identification documents to bring to the poll site • Supporting the individual in transferring poll sites to a more convenient location to ensure accessibility • Obtaining an absentee ballot (if applicable) • Ensuring that voter registration materials are available onsite throughout the year to ensure engagement during election periods • Organizing poll walk parties to encourage voters to travel to the polls together
Currently qualifications to vote by absentee ballot in New York allows individuals to request an absentee ballot if an individual is absent from their county or the five boroughs on election day. However, this excludes homeless individuals who may be residing in their county of origin on Election Day but may be unable to travel to the poll site due to barriers such as transportation or finances. While voters who are sure they are registered but are turned away at the polls can obtain an affidavit ballot, this information is not widely publicized.
Arming ourselves with information can poise individuals to actively participate in our country’s democracy and ensure that our government reflects the needs of those it serves.
Allysha Bryant is pursuing a dual degree, Master of Arts in social work and doctorate in social welfare at Yeshiva University’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work. She is currently interning with the National Association of Social Workers, New York State Chapter. payments. Some saw their applications delayed. Others are in limbo. All seemed to be hit hard economically. Brooklyn-based immigration lawyer Brian Figeroux advises those with similar cases to seek a second opinion.
“Get more than one consultation,” he said. “Get two or three consultations, compare what the attorneys say—[just] because an attorney tells you that you can succeed [doesn’t] means that you could succeed.”
He also recommends putting more stock in the bad news—lawyers who offer doubts or low confidence in immigration cases are likely more honest given they’re going against the financial incentives.
Those finding themselves in similar shoes as Moreno’s victims can call D.A. Bragg’s Immigrant Affairs Unit hotline at 212-335-3600. Non-English speaking services are available.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w the commission may be required to draw one or two wholly Asian American districts.
“Basically to acknowledge the changes in population in the last 10 years and the increase in Asian populations versus the parallel rapid reduction in the white population,” said Citizens Union’s Ben Weinberg.
The commission has been criticized for having a “lack of transparency” in its decision making processes, said Weinberg. He said that the presentation on racial bloc voting was a “positive step” but it didn’t include reasons behind why they have formed the preliminary map as it is.
“If they’re deciding everything behind the scenes and only show up to the public meeting to say ‘yes I agree’ then it’s not a very public process. The whole point of a public meeting under the open meetings law is to show the public how decisions are made,” said Weinberg.
In Tuesday’s hearing, Dan Kaminsky, a policy manager at Citizens Union, testified that the commission should explain the reasoning behind line drawing decisions, most notably the proposed plan to keep three whole city council districts on Staten Island. In order to satisfactorily keep all three districts on the island and not split between other boroughs, the commission used up most of the “legally allowed population deviation.”
Kaminsky said that the organization was equally concerned about “recent reports about possible backroom deals between appointing authorities, and their influence over mapping decisions.”
At the very least, the commission has decided to hold a public hearing in Harlem after multiple sources campaigned for a meeting to be closer to impacted communities.
The next hearings will be Thursday, Aug. 18 at Staten Island Borough Hall; Sunday, Aug. 21 at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn; and Monday, Aug. 22 at the Schomburg Center in Harlem.
Testimony may also be provided via Zoom during the public hearings or by email at publictestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w
