Withdrawing Inspiration
Joycelyn Elders
Arkansas Medical School, and then a Masters in Biochemistry from The University of Arkansas Medical Center in 1967. Dr. Elders was appointed the position as the Director of the Arkansas Department of Health by former President and then- Governor Bill Clinton, where she increased the number of early childhood annual screenings and immunization rates for two year old children. It doesn’ t stop there, in 1992, Dr. Elders was elected the President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers in 1992.
She did what?!
Who is Joycelyn Elders?
Joycelyn Elders, a native of Schaal, Arkansas, was born Minnie Lee Jones on August 13, 1933. Minnie Lee Jones lived in an underprivileged household as the oldest daughter of eight children.
How did she acquire such status?
Minnie Lee, officially changed her name to Minnie Joycelyn Lee during her college years at Philander Smith College where she received her Bachelor’ s degree in Biology. With her Bachelor’ s, Joycelyn worked as a nurse’ s aide in Milwaukee at a Veterans Hospital. Joycelyn trained as a physical therapist for 3 years as a member of the United States Army, then received her Doctorate in 1960 from the University of
What else could Dr. Joycelyn Elders have possibly done you may ask? Well, Dr. Elders was appointed the highly esteemed position as the Surgeon General of Public Health Service, September 8, 1993, being the FIRST African American woman in the history of the United States. Dr. Elders unfortunately, was in the position as Surgeon General for a mere 15 months after being forced to resign for a controversial comment of sex education, " I think that is something that is a part of human sexuality, and it ' s a part of something that perhaps should be taught, but we ' ve not even taught our children the very basics. And I feel that we have tried ignorance for a very long time, and it ' s time we try education." After leaving she went to the University of Arkansas Medical Center as a Professor of pediatrics.
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