MABP.us

History

As told by historian Charles E. Crutchfield Sr. MD

As I can remember about eight (8) people showed up at Dr Ed Posey, they may not even know it, his house in Burnsville.

Members that were present are Cassius Cellos, Dr. Brown, Ed Posey, myself, Susan, Cassius Ellis, probably Elliott Troupe and there is an eighth one whom I can't remember now.

We met for the first time, and at that time we elected, Curtis Davis was the first president from 1970. About two years later Edward Posey became president. Curtis Davis was an Internist; Ed Posey was the family doctor that became a Psychiatrist. He became president about two years or three years later. He didn't do much so I don’t remember him being president that much. About three years after that Cassius Ellis, Cassius Ellis great big surgeon, huge guy, three hundred plus pounds. He was the president for the next eight years and there was a meeting and I was out playing ball and when I got home my wife told me that you've being elected the new president of the "NMA" local NMA, chapter of the NMA.

I was president for probably at least six years and that was when we grew our membership up to, there was once up to 98 members in the area even out of Duluth, Rochester and somebody came out of Iowa. After myself the next president was Donald Marsh. Donald Marsh became president after myself and he didn't realize how hard that my late wife Pat and I worked to keep the organization going. He thought it ran itself. He was not a people person either he was a radiologist who went into places where he didn't have to meet people. He did a lot to harm the group. My late wife was the president for Life of the Axillary and Donald Marsh told the lady who to become, Duchess Heiress, that is hairiest her Ernest John he is the hair, nose and throat man, Charles went to school with John, and his wife anyway. Dr. Marsh told her she was trying to give us a suggestion, he was quiet shovinest, He told her,” will you just be quiet and make some money, we will run the organization”. And she became so offended that she just quit and so did her husband John who was the ear, nose and throat radiologist.

Jim Lewis was the next president. James Lewis is still alive, after Donald Marsh, James Lewis became president and after James Lewis I believe Henry Smith became president and after Henry Smith my guess is that Carl; 'James Lewis, Henry Smith, Carl Smith'. Then Inel Rosario, she did a good job. Inel Rosario; ear, nose and throat. She took it over then there was a lady name Taylor. I forget her first name, she was a Cardiologist at the U, I think, she was a surgeon for a couple of years. By this time the just group had splintered and people could now belong to the AMA.

It was not as essential to belong to the National Medical Association when you could get into the AMA. About 1975, the AMA and the NMA started to meet jointly and one of the members of the NMA became the black president of the AMA, which has never happened before. After Taylor the group splintered and there was an African guy I think Charles knew, who carried it for about the next six years we had infrequent meetings. My late wife said before she died, just after we gave up the position the whole organization fell down. Charles is trying resurrect the group, but in the past when I was president for those six, eight years we had fundraisers, we gave scholarships, we were an active growing group. We liked each other, we met every month and send out minutes. Right now the group is trying to reconnect.

All these people and the names you got are most of them are alive. The most prominent president was Cassius Ellis, before I took it over. He had it for about I don't know, six to eight years set out for life until one day  I don't know what happen and I was out playing baseball and that night my late wife said you are the new president and I said what do you mean, what if I don't even want to be, doesn't matter we are tired of Cassius, he doesn't call a meeting with us I asked him to call and he is doing nothing. He got too big, he could hardly move. But the NMA was very good in the sense that it had three branches, it had a local branch, and it had a political branch. I was a delegate. They have National Convention every year in major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Chicago, which you can look up the history that was the first year I went to the National Convention, but I was a delegate, every year, from local Minnesota to the National Convention which was really good. It had Scientific meetings and people giving papers, it had a political wing, they were trying to specially help poor people in larger cities and then we had the social activities.

We had all kinds of entertainment come. One year we had Miss America, first time I remember seeing a Miss America up close was Suzette Charles. We were on the elevator together and she have being singing and she wanted to know what I think and I told her your voice is monotoned, you need to go high low. I always have recommendation for people because I'm a natural critic. Ask me some specific questions about the group.

We would have meetings monthly, we serve food, it was almost an I will out do you. It was at my house this week or this month. And I remember, I remember we had a guy name Ed Andrew Agie from Minneapolis but originally from Mississippi. Andrew said hey Charles, you know how to do neck-bone, and I said of course, I know how to do them, I know how to cook everything, and he said I don't know how to do them and I love them, would you do them? I always had neck-bones which is end of the rib cage for Andrew Agie.

Fred Lewis was a good member, he would always have barbecue ribs, and it became a social group interaction. But we did make statements, some of the problems that we were having that we should support the local community clinics, and one of the ladies, Diane Parker was a member. She had three kids and it was hard for her to get to the clinic on time at eight in the morning and one of superiors who was not a doctor was giving her a bad time. I remember I called and said she was in the health department center at that time I believe or aspirin and I call over as president and said that she was a good member in good standing and that she is working under duress and that if they continue to harass her that the local Minnesota chapter of the NMA will issue a law suit and perhaps we would picket the clinic. You don't want that kind of publicity, the negative publicity we will give you, so lighten up on her, she has three kids, and she’s having trouble getting three kids off school and then coming in to work at eight. And they did, they did not let her go, but they put her on probation, but she quit a couple years later and moved on to New Orleans. But there is a lot of history fun, games, it was very effective, very instrumental, it was where you could go meet somebody.

The organization came, you can look up when the NMA began, a doctor in Chicago I think is name was Williams started in roughly in 1896 or 1898. If you are general public in 1900, you don't know the difference between NMA and the AMA, they thought they were the same, well they weren't. And up until about 1950, very important, black doctors were not admitted to the AMA, and if you were not a member of the EMA that was a reason not to allow you to become a member of the hospital staff.

When I came here from Alabama in Med school in 1963, I never expected to stay here. I was going back to Alabama and be the only black doctor in the county. I was going to be like a missionary but the reason I learned everything so well was because I thought I was going to be the only black doctor in the county. I can't depend on anyone for giving me help. If its kids, a child, I got to know Pediatrics, I even learned pathology; I thought I may have to make my own slides to make a diagnosis. I remember I spend a lot a time trying to determine how I could tell Leukoplakia, which is a pre-cancerous from cancer. So I thought if I go back to Alabama I probably would not be admitted to the AMA there so they won't let me in my hospital. I had to practice office base business which many black doctors did.

So it was very essential and started in 1896 and 98 Chicago annual meeting every year, we still have it right now every year. Great programs for children and great scientific programs. They would always ask me how would I treat this in Minnesota when I went. I was active in the scientific program, we had a political delegation too. Now the reason why the organization now Allison and Kel, is called The Minnesota Association Black Position and not The Minnesota Chapter of the National Medical Association, about twenty five years ago something happened at the national office which was in Washington DC for the National Medical Association at the headquarters, there was some money that came up missing. Lawsuits started to fly and every member, every group, the Minnesota Chapter of the NMA was vulnerable, we are part of the NMA so the law suit was aiming at us too. We thought we don't want to be part of anything that is questionable so far as internal revenue service.

They decided that rather than calling yourself say the Illinois branch of the NMA you call yourself say the Illinois division of Associated Negro black whatever you want to call it we were at the time physicians. So, we would lose that obvious affiliation with the NMA. That was about twenty-five years ago, and it took them about five to eight years to straighten out. By that time most local branches have regained themselves. I was at the meeting in Burnsville when they renamed ourselves the NMA Minnesota Chapter of the Minnesota Association of Black Physicians. 

Elliott Troupe is still alive, he was always a good member, seventy-one, ophthalmologist, I’ll see him tonight" but he was never a leader, he was never a president or anything. Ron England died about four years ago maybe five years ago, he was a Pioneer in Saint Paul, as the first black Physician internist, who joined a white group. Martin Ferguson and England and I look at St Paul and thought that he paved the way for me. Someone always paves the way for someone else usually, he paved the way for me in the sense that "here's a black doctor he's functioning quite well with a white group. So when I got out of the air force a white group asked me to join, which I did. But Rod England was Physician, a great man, one of the few people that I looked up to. Jim Lewis, "my mother said when you have nothing good to say about someone don't say anything". Jim Lewis served a function as the president of the NMA for two or three years when Donald Marsh later ran it into the ground cause he was not a people person at all. Jim Lewis is still in practice today. He works at Open City on Rice Street.

Carl Smith, Urologist, worked his whole career as a doctor at University of Minnesota as a Urologist, about 73 now.

Elliott Troupe is now 80 and Carl Smith is about 73. Carl Smith picked the NMA at the local chapter where he was founder, he picked it up when it was not doing well.

Henry Smith age 81, Internist, a Pioneer doctor too. He was the first black doctor who went into the St. Louis Park medical center as a Nephrologist. He worked until about four years ago when he had a stroke and he hasn't worked since. But he his elusive and able to talk. He was a president one of the later day president of the NMA.

Ann Taylor, don't know a lot about her, she was a Cardiologist at the University of Minnesota, was president of the NMA for two or three years. I think she did Ok, but she was not in the community. When you work at the U you are always protected by the University of Minnesota, no one can get to you and so she was not in the community. She was at church but she was not in the community. She was a good person though, I think.

Inell Rosario was a very good president. She was very good, very dynamic. By the time she came along, I don't mean for this to be conceited but people like myself that were also dynamic, we got older and she didn't have the material to work with but she did very well for what she had, she did a great job.

Cassius Ellis was good, he's not on here. Whenever you belong to a group there are always people that don't get along and I had that problem with Cassius Ellis and Donald Brown. Donald Brown by the way was a Pioneer doctor. Donald Brown was an internist. Donald Brown's father Dr W. D Brown, his office was on 1106 ½ Hennepin  Avenue. He was the only black doctor I thought was here when I came here in 55. And I went to him whenever I get sick and the bumps and when I got ready to apply for medical school by 1958, 59, I asked him to give me a recommendation, and he did.

By the way prior to about 1900, if you wanted to be a doctor, if you get through high school, like most people didn't graduate high school, and they had to work. If you were fortunate enough to go to college, medical colleges prior to 1900 were almost like diploma mills. You get a little bit anatomy, pay your $2000 to $3000 dollars and you were quote a doctor, you learn on the job. Dr Brown was the first black doctor in Minnesota. Donald Browns' grandfather, I never met him, but I heard he got his diploma in a, got his degree at a Chicago Medical diploma Mill for a few thousand dollars. He practiced, pioneered, then in Minneapolis.

Most doctors didn't live too long. I think they worked themselves to death. Dr Brown was probably no more that 66 - 68 when he died, his son Donald was no more that 65 when he died. Cassius Ellis wasn't even 60 when he died, Andrew Agie is probably... a lot of stress was put on people and if you don't learn how to handle the stress it will kill you. Donald Marsh died very early, Agie died early, all these people are dead and they didn't live to be 90 either they died 65 - 70, they were gone. But I think the stress, being the first one there, and the expectations were so that they couldn't handle it, hearts went bad. Donald Brown’s heart went bad, kidney went bad, and he died of a heart attack. Agie died of a bad heart and stress. I was trying to tell him get away from all this stress, he couldn't escape it.

Donald Brown, this is an interesting story, he and Cassius didn't get along, they both were married but they both had the same girlfriend and they both were giving. She was a divorce school teacher, I know her, and she is still alive today. First year in college I met her and she was trying to get me to come up to what I call the Crow’s nest where the black kids hung out, a few were there at the university and in the main hall there and  I thought Oh`... no. I don't have any money, I'm living off 55 cents a day, I have to thumb to school, I don't have time to go up there and play with you guys. I met her there and she was kind of an outstanding girl. So fast forward 30 years later, she would go to Cassius office and then later on she would go to Donald Brown's office and I think they both were giving her money for whatever service she is providing for them. And when they found out about it the two of them, and I’m in the middle if this cause I’m the President of the local chapter. The two of them were mad at each other and Cassius died first and Donald wouldn't even go to Cassius's funeral. There was such hard feeling. But they didn't say that was it and I had thought it was something else having to do with State Board of Medical Examiners which Cassius was the first member of State Board of Medical Examiners too.

Jon, a friend of Charles went to college with Charles; think he and Charles had the same girlfriend. Jon, ear, nose and throat doctor, he was a good guy, I was sorry to see him leave the organization.

And I think he knew what was going on with Cassius and Donald too, that’s a real interesting story but they both were married so nobody could talk about it. They pretended that it was due to a misunderstanding of the NMA of the State Board of Medical Examiners. Now John became the second black doctor to be on the board. John Thomas, his wife was Duchess Harris Thomas. I can't get it right with some of these of crazy people. He was so conceited when he got married. He got married to Duchess Harris, such a pretty lady. In fact Duchess was in the paper just recently. Did you see the movie Hidden Figures?

The NMA functioned as a group that you could belong to that would allow you have hospital privileges. It was very important prior to about 2000 for a doctor to have hospital privileges if you've been a patient and followed them or not. About 20 years ago, 15 - 20 years ago I started to change, and I was one of the first hospitalist, OBGYN hospitalist. I stayed there, slept all night in case people came in, delivered babies and their doctors didn’t make it.

C- Sections were never done. They developed around 20 years ago a group of doctors who were call hospitalist, but between 1900 and 2000 for 100 years, if you were my patient and you went to the hospital I would made rounds on you every day, I would make rounds on eight to ten patient at the hospital at given time. The hospitalist didn't touch my patients we didn't have those in those days.

So, the (NMA) National Medical Association served as national group that you could belong to that certified that you were good enough to be a hospital staff member. That was the biggest function they did. And they also found out that, found a lot a segregation especially in the south. They served a little to the NAACP, if there was a doctor in town the town be prosecuted, they would come to his aid if he was a member. I keep thinking about bragging but I was not only of the National Group they made me secretary treasurer. So, I kept the money for four years and I had a secretary real smart girl, Mary Bernosky. I said Mary people get very upset with you if you mess with their money.

So, whenever I had to collect dues from all over the country, as secretary treasurer, every time a check came in I would take a photo copy and ran it through the machine and list it. Because at the national meeting in New York some guy would stagger in and lie about their money. I had every check that came in to me. If your check was sent it never got to me and it was never cashed. I had every check photocopied. I did such a good job at that, that they gave me some kind a big commendation I remember one meeting I went to I think I was the only one there, and someone said Charles why do you go to all those meetings, and I said to keep the doctors from telling black jokes, when they look and see me they don't tell the joke.

Henry Smith was a Pioneer, Elliot Troupe was a Pioneer, Rodney England was a Pioneer, and Donald Marsh, was also a Pioneer.

Curtis Davis, he was the first president of the NMA, an internist was the first local president of the NMA and took over about roughly February 1970. Dr Posey, Edward Posey MD; was Okay.

Donald Brown, Dr Donald Brown, the third brown in Minneapolis was the grandson of the first black doctor in Minnesota.

Donald was a good member too.

We didn't have a lot of woman members but Inell was good. Cheryl Southern, also was a contributing member and Barbara Leonne was a female and was also a good member. Susan, my ex-wife, Charles's mother, when I was in the group she was there.

We had three missions. Three missions of the NMA were:

1. To be politically active- Which meant that you try to help anybody of color who was in trouble with the medical society, that kind a thing and it give them access to get on the hospital staff.

2. Scientific - We want all our members to be up on the latest data. And every national meeting, every meeting that we had, we give a talk and we received credits with the talk.

3. Entertainment - To have fun. And as black doctors, we get down and we had fun.

The most important to me was the scientific. But for some people even at the national meeting, guys like Fred Parrot, he came there just to play Tennis and court the girls, that was all.

When I came there I was a delegate to the political community at the national meetings and in the morning, I would go to scientific meetings and in afternoon I would go to the delegation. I was a delegate for Minnesota. There were two of us. But those were the three missions. Scientific; to learn. Great scientific presentation, political; help the community; things like that and keep the doctors in trouble and the social is to have fun. We had tennis matches I played in.

We lived near Time Square; also it’s very important, Charles may have remembered this, we had great, not good, we had great children programs. If you went to this meeting, that was your vocation for a week. Very expensive but they take your kids from about 9 in the morning to about 6 at night. They take good care of the kids. The children program was a big draw for the national convention which held once a year in a big major city. It had to be in a major city to support around 1500 doctors and their families. So you had to have big city. 

< p>We never had the convention in Minnesota. We had the regional when I was a president at the local chapter. We never had the national convention here. We welded a certain amount of weight. We were going to take the meeting to California, San Diego and Mandela had gone to San Diego for something and the founding fathers did not honor Mandela. They were like who are you? We decided as a group, as the political way, that we were not going. We decided where we were not going, we would not go the next week, we were supposed to be in San Diego we told them we were not going there.

We withdrew from going to San Diego. Now did that matter? It absolutely did. You bring 1500 doctors into a city and I don't know how many million dollars you brought into the city but you put a lot a money into the economy, so San Diego got very upset. They apologize but it was too late. We did the same for Miami, Miami had slided somebody that they shouldn't have. So we did some good work. If you have children, we would give your son a recommendation for med school when its time.

Charles is trying to get the local group up and I applaud that.

The national organization had all kind of magazines. The AMA Journal, The NMA Journal too still comes out. So there were many publications in the AMA Journal. Did our local chapter have any publication, I don't know. I didn't have any local publication, I gave a couple of speeches and talks.