Celebrate Black History Month: A Journey through Lane Library

by on February 2, 2024 2:34 pm
Categories: Classes and Events, Medical History, News

Lane Library celebrates Black History Month this February by proudly showcasing our diverse resources. We invite the Stanford Medicine community to visit the library (in-person or online) to explore our spaces and exhibits and browse our collections. 

Visit the D-CORE Space

Lane Library is proud to house the Diversity Center of Representation and Empowerment (D-CORE), a space open to any member of the Stanford Medicine community interested in issues of inclusion and diversity. The D-CORE space can be used for meetings, casual conversations, and as a place to relax and study.

The D-CORE also houses over 200 fiction and non-fiction books, including books championed by the Stanford Medicine community during Lane Library’s annual Banned Books Week celebration. You are welcome to visit the D-Core to hang out, study, and browse the book collection. Explore the D-CORE collection’s print and digital books to find the next book for your reading list. 

Explore our Medical History Center

Lane Library’s Medical History Center (MHC) is an excellent resource for conducting historical research, including how to locate and use primary source materials in Black history from archival repositories and beyond. 

Black and white photo of Dr. Eliza Grier.

Dr. Eliza Grier

The MHC’s current exhibit on Dr. Mary Bennett Ritter makes mention of Dr. Eliza Grier, one of the first Black women to be awarded an MD in the United States. Dr. Grier had been born enslaved but as a freed woman went on to practice as the first Black Woman with a medical license in Georgia. Visit the exhibit in person in the library’s lobby or online.

Learn about Dr. Augustus White III, the first Black graduate of Stanford Medicine, through an oral history facilitated by the MHC. Dr. White shares his experiences as a student at Stanford and his subsequent career in medicine in an interview with Dr. Iris Gibbs, Associate Dean of MD admissions and Professor of Radiation Oncology-Ratiation Therapy and Neurosurgery. Listen to the oral history to learn more about Dr. White,  MD Class of 1961. 

Cover of "Secret Cures of Slaves"

Stanford faculty member Dr. Londa Shiebinger’s book “Secret Cures of Slaves: People, Plants, and Medicine in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World,” highlights the knowledge and resourcefulness of enslaved people caring for themselves and each other even in the dire circumstances of US slavery. Dr. Shiebinger did her research in the Stanford Medical History Center, among other repositories – as mentioned in the book’s acknowledgments. It is available for check out in Lane Library’s circulating History of Medicine collection. 

Navigate our MultiCultural Health Guide

Lane Library’s Multicultural Health Guide contains a wealth of resources on the topics of medical racism, antiracism, health disparities, and cultural competency. Resources from Lane Library, Stanford Libraries, and government resources are included in this guide with links to books, journals, and websites providing diverse perspectives and information to support your learning. 

Browse our Health Equity Resources

Lane Library is committed to adding resources on health equity, health disparities, social justice, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion)  to our collection. Use these terms in Lane Search and discover our current resources on these topics. Examples of newly purchased resources are linked below: 

Cover of "Health Equity and Nursing"

Health Equity and Nursing

Cover of "Mental Health, Racism, and Contemporary Challenges of Being Black in America"

Mental Health, Racism, and Contemporary Challenges of Being Black in America

Cover of "Black Magic:: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph"

Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph

Cover of "The Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health"

The Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health

cover of "Racism: Science and Tools for the Public Health Professional"

Racism: Science and Tools for the Public Health Professional

Cover of "Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians from the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century"

Twice as Hard: The Stories of Black Women Who Fought to Become Physicians, from the Civil War to the Twenty-First Century

Lane Library welcomes suggestions for purchase. 

Submit Your Suggestion for Purchase

Attend Stanford Medicine and Stanford University Events

Black History Month is celebrated across Stanford Medicine and Stanford University. Some highlights include: 

Medicine Grand Rounds and Black History Month

Pediatric Grand Rounds in recognition of Black History Month

Book Display: African-Americans and the Arts, sponsored by Stanford University Libraries

Black History Month Social and Book Talk: Chris Clay, “Unstoppable”, sponsored by Stanford Research Park

Black History Month Coffee Conversation, sponsored by Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

View the StanfordMed Today and the Black Community Services Center’s community calendar to locate additional events.

Comment below to share how you plan on celebrating Black History Month.

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