Author’s Night: “Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine” with Louis W. Sullivan, MD

020214 breaking ground_05Featuring a Q&A with Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD

Join us as former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, MD, talks about his award-winning memoir, Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine, which recounts his life from his childhood in the Jim Crow South through his extraordinary career. Dr. Sullivan’s talk will be followed by a Q&A with Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD. Copies of Breaking Ground will be available for purchase and signing.

The book chronicles his life as a young boy sent by his parents to become educated away from the harsh segregation of Blakely, Georgia; graduating magna cum laude from Morehouse College; becoming the sole African American student in his class at Boston University School of Medicine; being appointed the first Black intern at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center; and becoming founding dean of Morehouse School of Medicine.

Dr. Sullivan’s Washington years were filled dealing with the burgeoning AIDS crisis, PETA activists and antismoking efforts, along with his endeavors to push through comprehensive health care reform decades before the Affordable Care Act. Along the way his interactions with a cast of politicos, including Thurgood Marshall, Jack Kemp, Clarence Thomas, Jesse Helms and the Bushes, capture vividly a particular moment in recent history.

Dr. Sullivan’s life, from Morehouse to the White House and his ongoing work with medical students in South Africa, is the embodiment of the hopes and progress that the civil rights movement fought to achieve. His story—winner of a 2015 NAACP Image Award—should inspire future generations of all backgrounds to aspire to great things.











When: Wed., Sep. 9, 2015 at 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
Where: The New York Academy of Medicine
1216 Fifth Ave.
212-822-7200
Price: Free
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020214 breaking ground_05Featuring a Q&A with Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD

Join us as former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, MD, talks about his award-winning memoir, Breaking Ground: My Life in Medicine, which recounts his life from his childhood in the Jim Crow South through his extraordinary career. Dr. Sullivan’s talk will be followed by a Q&A with Academy President Jo Ivey Boufford, MD. Copies of Breaking Ground will be available for purchase and signing.

The book chronicles his life as a young boy sent by his parents to become educated away from the harsh segregation of Blakely, Georgia; graduating magna cum laude from Morehouse College; becoming the sole African American student in his class at Boston University School of Medicine; being appointed the first Black intern at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center; and becoming founding dean of Morehouse School of Medicine.

Dr. Sullivan’s Washington years were filled dealing with the burgeoning AIDS crisis, PETA activists and antismoking efforts, along with his endeavors to push through comprehensive health care reform decades before the Affordable Care Act. Along the way his interactions with a cast of politicos, including Thurgood Marshall, Jack Kemp, Clarence Thomas, Jesse Helms and the Bushes, capture vividly a particular moment in recent history.

Dr. Sullivan’s life, from Morehouse to the White House and his ongoing work with medical students in South Africa, is the embodiment of the hopes and progress that the civil rights movement fought to achieve. His story—winner of a 2015 NAACP Image Award—should inspire future generations of all backgrounds to aspire to great things.

Buy tickets/get more info now