Black Bottom Digital ArchiveHistorical MapHistorical FiguresHistorical SitesOral HistoriesAboutMenu

Dunbar Hospital

Dunbar Hospital is considered one of the first well-known black hospitals in Detroit.  Similar to Mercy Hospital, which was established the previous year, the influx of black residents in Detroit and disparity in medical access, led 30 black physicians to form the Allied Medical Society and establish Dunbar Hospital in 1918. In 1919, it was named after Black American Ohio poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Both Dunbar and Mercy Hospital specialized in serving African American patients and offering training programs for nurses.

Marker

Tags

Sources

Herb Boyd. “The Medical Northcross Family of Detroit.” New York Amsterdam News. June 22, 2017. Accessed 28 July 2020.

“Dunbar Hospital.” Detroit: A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. National Park Service.

“Name New Hospital at Detroit in Honor of Poet.” The Chicago Defender (Big Weekend Edition). June 7, 1919, p. 1.

View more historical sites