Two Yale libraries have mounted exhibitions celebrating February as BlackHistory Month.
Medical Library
An exhibit titled "The Tangled History of African Americans and Medicine" is now on view in the rotunda of the Cushing-Whitney Medical Library, located at 333 Cedar St.
Among the themes explored in the display are mortality and other health differentials according to race; mistrust of the medical profession, as exemplified by the Tuskegee experiment; and the struggle to integrate the medical profession, with special attention to the history of African Americans at the School of Medicine. The materials on display, which are drawn from the library's archives, include the 1857 thesis by the first African American graduate of the Yale medical school, and turn-of-the-century class photos.
The exhibit is sponsored by the Student National Medical Association at Yale.
"The Tangled History of African Americans and Medicine" will remain on view through early March. It can be viewed during Medical Library hours: 8 a.m.-midnight, Monday-Thursday; 8 a.m.- 10 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-midnight, Sunday.
Beinecke Library
Selections from the Randolph Linsly Simpson African-American Collection, a major photographic archive, are now on view at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
The archive, acquired by the library last February, focuses on the experience of African Americans in the United States in the 19th century. It includes images of individuals from many walks of life, from politicians to bankers, cowboys, entertainers, emancipated slave children, military companies, factory workers and farm hands.
The photographs are on display in the north curved case on the Beinecke mezzanine. The Beinecke Library is located at 121 Wall St. The exhibition area is open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday. For information, call 432-2977. Admission is free.