Did you know that racism trumped saving lives in the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic in the U.S.?

[quote]In the fall of 1918, the United States experienced a severe shortage of professional nurses during the flu pandemic because large numbers of them were deployed to military camps in the United States and abroad. This shortage was made worse by the failure to use trained African American nurses.[/quote]

From a CDC article published in 2018:

https://blogs.cdc.gov/publichealthmatters/2018/05/1918-flu/

@bijouxbroussard

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bijouxbroussard · F Best Comment

Yes. My father’s mother lived through it. In her small parish, the black undertaker died and the white mortuaries refused to collect black bodies until they were ordered to by the government. A lot of illness spread that wouldn’t have if not for that.

flipper1966 · M

@bijouxbroussard My mother's father died in the flu epidemic in 1918.

ozgirl512 · 26-30, F

Sad, but it was the times ...

Callmewhatyouwill

Well segregation of both races and genders was a thing back then. Not really surprising

bijouxbroussard · F

@Callmewhatyouwill But it was a different kind of segregation. White women still held a valued place in society.

Callmewhatyouwill

@bijouxbroussard ok and how many lives could have been saved by male nurses, or female doctors?

It wasn't just race, everyone who wasn't a white man was discrimated against

bijouxbroussard · F

@Callmewhatyouwill I didn’t say it didn’t exist. I said it was [b]different[/b], and it [b]was[/b].

Piper · 61-69, F

I didn't know that specific fact, but am not all surprised to 'hear' it.

thiccchungles · 22-25, F

Well that's fucked up.

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