Oral history interview with James Slade, February 23, 1997
Subtitle: interview R-0019, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Thomas, Karen Kruse, interviewer; Slade, Catherine, interviewee; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2007
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; African American physicians; Discrimination in medical care; Poor; Medical care; African Americans; Medically underserved areas; Medical offices; Management
Other titles: Interview R-0019, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with James Slade, February 23, 1997; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: James Slade was the second African American to attend medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He started there in 1952, embracing the challenges and limitations of attending UNC-Chapel Hill, including one racist professor. Slade eventually decided to become a pediatrician: the specialty attracted warm-hearted doctors less prone to prejudice. He began private practice in Edenton, NC, in 1965, where for many years he was the only black physician. In this interview, he recalls the gradual integration of medical practice in Edenton and describes his experiences as one of very few African-American medical professionals in his area. Slade, who is joined by his wife, Catherine, focuses on the challenges of medical care at the intersection of race, poverty, and rural isolation. Poor patients, black and white, had a unique set of needs that Slade worked to serve despite limited access to medical technology and peers with whom to collaborate. As he did so, he earned the loyalty of a black community that in addition to its unique medical needs--such as treatment for diabetes and hypertension--made unique demands of its doctor. Toward the end of this interview, Slade also describes some of the changes that have affected the business of medicine in the past few decades and his concerns about the health of the black community.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 19, 2008).

Interview participants: James Slade, interviewee; Catherine Slade, interviewee; Karen Kruse Thomas interviewer.

Duration: 02:58:19.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 191.8 kilobytes, 326 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series R, Special research projects, interview R-0019, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Karen Kruse Thomas. Original transcript: 31 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.