New exhibit explores disparities, inequities in Black health care

It was said that Hawkins navigated his practice by horse all around Richmond, extracting teeth using a tooth pulling pelican. Belsches shared a story from Samuel Mordecai’s 1856 book “Richmond in By-Gone Days,” where Mordecai writes about Hawkins extracting his tooth without even dismounting his horse, and his wrist being so strong that often a good tooth would come out with the bad.

“Those were tough days,” Belsches said.

Her latest exhibit at the Black History Museum and Cultural Center, “A Prescription for Change,” takes audiences through a journey from the 1700s to the present across eight areas that highlight the Black experience in medical professions in Virginia.

“It’s very important that this knowledge is illuminated because they serve as a springboard to increasing the number of underrepresented students in the healthcare professions,” Belsches said. “There have been studies that show correlation between having underrepresented practitioners as well as taking care of underrepresented patients.

“This is not just Black medical history, it is American history and we all benefit from learning about these powerful examples of working together and achieving a lot of firsts in spite of exclusionary practices.”

“A Prescription for Change” highlights the important yet often overlooked contributions of Black professionals in health fields. Belsches is the creator, curator and historian for the exhibit which is open now through March 15, 2025.

Belsches is also a filmmaker, author and contributor to the African-American National Biography and was an in-studio researcher for Steven Spielberg’s motion picture, “Lincoln.”

Audiences are able to explore the history through images, artifacts and documents, showcasing the efforts of Black medical professionals to combat healthcare disparities and inequities.

Belsches divides the exhibit into eight sections such as education, physicians, dentists, nurses, midwives and doulas, the black hospital movement, and organizations.

This exhibition provides an extensive overview of Black achievements in health care.

Dr. Vivienne Pierce McDaniel, who is featured in the exhibit, says that its extremely important that this lesser-known history is carried on.

“Even if you’re in nursing school, it can’t just be about the history of nurses,” McDaniel said. “You need to know about the physicians, you need to know about the dentist, you need to know about the midwives and doulas. It’s so significant.”

The exhibit focuses on Virginia, spanning all areas including Albemarle county, Petersburg, Lynchburg and Richmond where Belsches highlights names like Dr. Zenobia Gilpin and landmarks like Richmond Community Hospital.

Dr. Bernice Latham attended the presentation on Saturday, “A Prescription of Hope: An Overview of the Prescription for Change Exhibition at the BHMVA.” Her husband, Dr. Wiley Latham, also featured in the exhibit, was the first African American gastroenterologist in Richmond.

“This has been quite inspirational,” she said. “Because it shows that even though we have disparities, you have to continue through the struggle. And the people that we saw had all kinds of obstacles, but they didn’t stop. They kept their eye on what needed to be done.”

“Sweet to the Soul and Healing to the Bones,” a pop-up exhibit that complements “A Prescription for Change,” features 14 works that explore the relationship between the medical industry and the Black community. The exhibition is open now through Nov. 30.