Black History Month
Dr John Alcindor
This year’s theme for Black History Month is ‘reclaiming narratives’ and so we are remembering Dr John Alcindor, a distinguished physician and activist who exemplified the principles of public health and who overcame bigotry and prejudice to help others.
Dr John Alcindor, born in July 1873, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and made significant contributions to medicine and social justice in the early 20th century.
Alcindor was educated at Saint Mary’s College in Trinidad, where he excelled academically, earning one of the prestigious Island Scholarships. The scholarship enabled him to travel to Scotland to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, Dr Alcindor moved to London, where he worked in various hospitals, including in Plaistow, Hampstead, and Camberwell. By 1907, he had established his own medical practice [1].
In 1914, at the start of the war, Dr Alcindor tried to sign up for the Royal Army Medical Corps but despite the need for qualified doctors, was rejected because of his “colonial origin”. Dr Alcindor was undeterred however and volunteered with the British Red Cross, providing critical medical care to wounded soldiers at London railway stations and was later awarded the Red Cross Medal [2].
Alcindor’s professional career was marked by his dedication to serving the underprivileged. Under the Poor Law, he worked tirelessly, offering free medical treatment to impoverished patients in their homes and, as the senior district medical officer for Paddington in the early 1920’s, was known as the ‘Black doctor of Paddington’ [3].
In addition to treating patients, Dr Alcindor recognised the inequity in health outcomes between rich and poor and, whilst serving as the secretary of the Poor Law Medical Officers Association, advocated for better healthcare for the poor.
He was an active researcher, publishing articles on influenza and tuberculosis, and exploring the correlation between cancer and poverty. His work highlighted the impact of unhealthy living conditions and poor diet on health and drove his commitment to addressing the wider, social determinants of health, tackling what we now refer to as the issue of health inequalities [4].
Dr Alcindor lived and worked through a pivotal time in public health history – a time when germ theory became widely accepted and the flu vaccine was developed in response to the outbreak of the Spanish Flu. It was also a time of significant developments in social care, with the establishment of the welfare state in 1906 and the passing of the Child Welfare Act in 1918 [5].
Although not a Medical Officer of Health (now known as a Director of Public Health), he was using his medical knowledge and skills to address inequalities and deserves to be recognised and celebrated for his pioneering approach and commitment to public health.
However, following his death in 1924, his legacy was, like so many other black pioneers, largely forgotten until 2014, when his descendants, supported by the Nubian Jak Community Trust, unveiled a heritage blue plaque in his honour in Paddington [3].
That he made such an impact while living at a time of such widespread racism is a testament to his dedication to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background had access to good health and social care – something we are sadly still striving for today.
References:
- London Remembers, John Alcindor https://www.londonremembers.com/subjects/john-alcindor [28/10/2024]
- British Red Cross Museum and Archive, John Alcindor https://museumandarchives.redcross.org.uk/objects/46896 [29/10/2024]
- British Red Cross, The Famous Black Doctor of Paddington https://www.redcross.org.uk/stories/our-movement/our-history/the-famous-black-doctor-of-paddington [28/10/2024]
- Green J. John Alcindor (1873–1924): A migrant’s biography. Immigrants Minor. 1987 Jul 1;6(2):174-89. doi:10.1080/02619288.1987.9974656. ISSN 0261-9288.
- World Health Organization, Public Health milestones through the years https://www.who.int/campaigns/75-years-of-improving-public-health/milestones#year-1945 [28/10/2024]