Medical Doctor

Born:

April 14, 1922, Alabama

Died:

November, 1979

Son of:

Dr. Joseph Fanning Drake

Notes:

•  Son of Alabama A & M President Joseph F. Drake and Annie G. Drake - Hereford

•  First Black doctor on Staff at Huntsville Hospital. - Cashin

•  He ran for city council without any illusions of winning. His "mission was to continue expanding the ranks of registered black voters and to agitate for more change." - Cashin

•  Around 1947, Dr. Harold Drake and Nurse Jean Dent opened the Triana's first medical clinic in a house previously occupied by a Tennessee Valley Authority game warden for Buckhead - Triana

•  "The county medical society wouldn't admit black physicians. To get around this, the doctors at the hospital had agreed to let Dr. Drake have a special arrangement whereby he could admit black patients to what was called the Colored Wing, though he was not to be a voting member of the staff. He could attend the hospital staff meetings as long as he didn't come during the social hour and during the meal - he was to ease into the meeting after the meal and after the servers had picked up the dishes. He was allowed to be in the business portion of the meeting only." - Hereford

•  Married to Geneva Lucretia Nall on April 14, 1945, in Williamson Co., Tennessee - Ancestry.com


Related Links:

•  Ancestry.com - Ancestry.com paid membership is required to view.

•  Cashin - The Agitator's Daughter: A Memoir of Four Generations of One Extraordinary African-American Family, by Sheryll Cashin, © 2008, p. 152. Many references were made throughout this book concerning the alliances between Dr. Drake and her father, Dr. Cashin.

•  Hereford - Beside the Troubled Waters: A Black Doctor Remembers Life, Medicine, and Civil Right in an Alabama Town, by Sonnie Wellington Hereford III and Jack D. Ellis, © 2011, p. 57. There are many references to Dr. Drake in this book. Dr. Drake was supportive of Dr. Hereford's career at every level. Before Dr. Hereford earned his MD, Dr. Drake encouraged him. After Dr. Hereford received his decorate, Dr. Drake helped him in various ways including helping him gain access to Huntsville Hospital.

•  Triana - Huntsville Times Article by Steve Doyle titled "Pioneering black nurse dies at 101", August 7, 2008. It is an article about Dr. Drakes co-worker at the Triana Health Clinic. (Originally found at http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/121810055779480.xml&coll=1.)

•  Triana Health Clinic - Article in Huntsville Times by Yvonne T. Betowt, June 28, 2010. The article was posted when the Triana Health Clinic was placed on the National Historic Register. Dr. Drake served there as its doctor.

The Following Pages Link to this Page:
•  Dr. Joseph Fanning Drake