Dorothy Ferebee (1898-1980) provided healthcare to vulnerable communities when they needed it most. She worked tirelessly across the United States and around the globe, advocating for civil rights and public health.
Dorothy Ferebee (1898-1980) provided healthcare to vulnerable communities when they needed it most. She worked tirelessly across the United States and around the globe, advocating for civil rights and public health.
You’re probably familiar with rebels without a cause, but what about rebels with a cause? This month on Womanica, we’re talking about women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. From the “Godmother of Title IX” Bernice Sandler, to the most prominent figure of the People Power Revolution, Corazon Aquino, to the “Queen of Civil Rights” Ruby Hurley, these women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan. And this is Womanica.
This month, we’re talking about Rebels WITH a cause: women who broke rules that were meant to be broken. These women took major risks to upend the status quo and create meaningful change.
Today, we’re talking about a woman who provided healthcare to vulnerable communities when they needed it most. She worked tirelessly around the country and across the globe, advocating for civil rights and public health.
Let’s talk about Dr. Dorothy Ferebee.
Dorothy Ferebee was born in Norfolk, Virginia on October 10, 1898. She spent most of her childhood in Boston, Massachusetts. She grew up surrounded by Black, middle-class professionals - within her family there were eight attorneys. Her uncle was the first Black man to graduate from Harvard Law.
But - despite all the legal-talk around her - Dorothy knew she wanted to be a doctor from a young age. She would nurse sick animals back to health, and her mother and grandmother encouraged her passion.
In 1916, Dorothy enrolled at Simmons College. She joined the historically Black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, and graduated Simmons with honors in 1920. Soon after, she enrolled in Tufts University College of Medicine. She was one of only five women in her class. When she graduated in 1924, she was also one of the five top students
Despite her academic success, it was difficult for Dorothy to find a hospital to work at. Most hospitals didn’t want to hire a Black woman as a doctor. Eventually, she began working as an obstetrician at Freedman’s Hospital in Washington D.C. It was one of the only Black-run hospitals in D.C. - and it later became part of Howard University’s medical school.
Dorothy made sure her female patients had access to contraception and received comprehensive sex education. After working with her patients for a while, Dorothy recognized the lack of adequate medical care within D.C.’s Black community. Some Black neighborhoods, like D.C.’s Capitol Hill, did not even receive ambulance service.
The city had already had settlement houses - institutions that provided healthcare, childcare, and education to low-income residents. But these houses exclusively catered to white people. So in 1929, she founded Southeast Neighborhood House, a settlement house for the Black community. Beyond providing medical care to the community, it also served as a day care where working mothers could drop their kids off, and had a playground where Black kids could play.
In 1930, Dorothy married Claude Thurston Ferebee. As Dorothy was entering her new marriage, the US was sliding into the Great Depression. The economic downturn especially affected Black Americans. In the rural South, Black sharecroppers were getting pushed out of work by their white peers
So in the summer of 1935, Dorothy began the Mississippi Health Project. Dorothy and volunteers recruited from her sorority, made the journey through Jim Crow South to reach the Mississippi Delta. There, they spent weeks providing free medical care to Black sharecroppers and their families. The whole project was paid for by Dorothy’s sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha.
It was incredibly dangerous, but Dorothy went to Mississippi for seven summers. Over the course of her work, she immunized 15,000 children against smallpox and diphtheria. Dorothy and her volunteers earned widespread praise for their efforts - Eleanor Roosevelt even invited Dorothy to the White House.
But Dorothy wasn’t just providing on-the-ground care to folks who needed it. She was also working on a national scale to change American policy for the better. In 1949, she became the president of the National Council of Negro Women. There, she created a ‘nine point program’, outlining a plan for how Black Americans would secure their civil rights through education and legislation. She did all of this while also working a full-time job at the hospital.
Her growing professional commitments grated on her husband Claude, who wanted her to spend more time at home. And in 1950, soon after the tragic death of their 18 year old daughter, Dorothy and Claude got a divorce.
Dorothy continued working towards a more equitable future. She became a medical consultant for the peace corps and the state department. And she traveled all over the globe - from Europe, to South America, to Africa - advocating for better health education, civil rights, and inclusive social reform.
Dorothy died on September 14, 1980. In her lifetime, she continuously found ways to overcome challenges and help the people in her community. In one interview right two years before she died, she said: “In our family, there was never a question of couldn’t.”
All month, we’re talking about rebels with a cause. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
As always, we’re taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday!