Connie Yerwood Conner (c. 1908 – June 11, 1991) was a Texas physician and first black doctor to serve on the Texas Department of Health.

Biography

Conner was born in Victoria, Texas, and grew up in Austin.[1] Early on, she decided she wanted to be a doctor.[2] Conner's father was a physician and as a young woman, she and her sister Joyce Yerwood spent time with her father on the job.[3] In 1925, she graduated from Samuel Huston College.[1] Then Conner graduated cum laude from Meharry Medical College in 1933.[3] Conner's residency was in pediatrics, but she eventually became more interested in public health and so went back to school on scholarship to study at the University of Michigan.[2]

Conner became the first black woman to work for the Texas Department of Health in 1937.[4] She was involved in training midwives in East Texas and set up wellness clinics in rural Texas.[2] Conner was passed over for promotions regularly until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.[4] She was the first black woman director of the Maternal and Child Health in Texas.[5] By the time she retired in 1977, she had been promoted to the director of health services in Texas.[2]

Conner died on June 11, 1991, in Austin.[1] She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Austin, Texas.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Public Health Pioneer Dies at 83". The Odessa American. Associated Press. 1991-06-16. p. 14. Retrieved 2017-10-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Monsho, Kharen (12 June 2010). "Conner, Connie Yerwood". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Society. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Harvey, Bill (2003-02-01). Texas Cemeteries: The Resting Places of Famous, Infamous, and Just Plain Interesting Texans. University of Texas Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9780292734661.
  4. 1 2 Winegarten, Ruthe; Kahn, Sharon (2010-07-22). Brave Black Women: From Slavery to the Space Shuttle. University of Texas Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN 9780292785557.
  5. ↑ "AAUW Member Accomplishments". AAUW Austin (TX) Branch. Archived from the original on 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
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