9 Black women who have transformed health and wellness throughout history

For decades, Black women have been outnumbered in fields they stand to gain the most: health and wellness. However, in recent years, a dedicated few have broken barriers in both. 

Ten years ago, Joy Harden Bradford founded Therapy for Black Girls, an online platform to help connect Black women and girls with culturally competent mental health providers and resources. Two years prior, Bea Dixon founded her feminine hygiene brand The Honey Pot, which offers organic pH-balanced sanitary products, washes, and more.  

In 2016, Tricia Hersey launched the Nap Ministry to encourage Black women and people of color to not just prioritize rest but to see it as a tool of resistance. A year later, Tracie Collins founded the National Black Doulas Association in large part to connect Black women and pregnant people with certified Black doulas. Also in 2017, Samia Gore broke ground when she became the first Black woman to get in on the health supplement game, eventually becoming the first Black woman to have supplements sold in The Vitamin Shoppe. During the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, viral immunologist Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett made history as a leader in devising the vaccine.

Corbett’s achievements and the progress she represents come on the shoulders of a handful of Black women who have broken historic ground in health and wellness. From devising the technology to treat cataracts to saving Civil War soldiers’ lives to conducting psychological studies integral to the Civil Rights Movement, Black women have managed to be pioneers in health and wellness. In honor of Women’s History Month, theGrio has compiled a list of Black women who have made history in health and wellness.

Joycelyn Elders

Joycelyn Elders was born a sharecropper’s daughter and would go on to become the first Black U.S. Surgeon General in 1993. Before then-President Bill Clinton helped Elders make history by appointing her as the first Black Surgeon General in…