Advisory Committee Chair
Andrew Baer
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2024
Degree Name by School
Master of Arts (MA) College of Arts and Sciences
Abstract
The life and work of Black Birmingham cardiologist, Dr. James T. Montgomery, demonstrates the importance of viewing the history of health activism and Birmingham civil rights history as two interconnected histories that influenced each other. Traditionally, secondary scholarship on the Birmingham civil rights movement and scholarship on the history of healthcare have been treated as two separate areas of study. Scholars such as Glenn Eskew and Diane McWhorter have written extensively on the civil rights movement in Birmingham, but their scholarship excludes any comprehensive discussion of the fight for racial justice within Birmingham’s medical field. Conversely, scholars such as Thomas J. Ward and Alondra Nelson have written on the fight for racial justice within healthcare, but they do not include the Birmingham civil rights movement in this discussion. Furthermore, secondary scholarship has yet to examine Dr. James T. Montgomery, a native of Alabama, who spent the majority of his life fighting for civil rights and racial justice within healthcare. He worked alongside activists like Fred Shuttlesworth and fought tirelessly to integrate hospitals and medical societies, improve healthcare for Black residents, and pave the way for the next generation of Black doctors and healthcare workers. Montgomery’s story shines light on a critical facet of Birmingham civil rights history that has previously been overlooked and reveals the myriad ways in which traditionally-explored civil rights activism influenced the fight for civil rights in healthcare. This thesis draws from four oral histories Montgomery gave during his lifetime and a variety of other primary sources. It also draws from the extensive corpus of scholarship on Birmingham civil rights history and American medical history to place Montgomery’s life and legacy within a broader social and historical context. Through bringing these two areas of study together, it seeks to promote a more integrated understanding of the Birmingham civil rights movement, its lasting legacy, and its implications for future activism.
Recommended Citation
Wells, Haley Eloise, "Knocking At The Door: The Life And Legacy Of Dr. James Montgomery" (2024). All ETDs from UAB. 3866.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/3866