Thank you Rick. I am truly honored to join Rick, Secretary
Tommy Thompson, and Deputy Secretary Claude Allen and all of you
today to commemorate this important event - - the 40th anniversary of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.
One of the facts that is not well known in the history of the Act is
the significant role the Surgeon General played in carrying out its
mandate. In fact, the Surgeon General's office was at the center of the
massive and Hurculean effort that Rick described to ensure that hospitals
were desegregated in order to receive Medicare funds in the summer of
1966. And so I'm pleased to offer some collective memories of this
crusade to integrate America's hospitals and secure compliance with
Title VI of the Civil Right Act.
The Surgeon General's involvement began on March 4, 1966,
when he sent a letter to every hospital in the country informing them that
hospitals receiving federal funds - some 7,000 facilities - had to fully
comply with the Civil Rights Act in order to participate in the new
Medicare program. These hospitals were put on notice that we would
not tolerate separation, discrimination or any other distinction on the
basis of race, color or national origin in any activity affecting the care
and treatment of patients. No longer was "separate but equal" medical
care and services acceptable.
The Surgeon General's letter asked each hospital to fill out some
basic information and, based on the data hospitals provided as of April
1966 - only 3 months before the start of Medicare - the picture did not
look good. Thousands of hospitals self reported that they still operated
segregated services. The problem was particularly acute in Southern
states where most hospitals were not integrated.
So, after launching this notice, we readied ourselves to begin
compliance work in the field -the crucial groundwork of our efforts.
Because the Office for Civil Rights had not yet been created, we had to
create a new office - the Office of Equal Health Opportunity within the
Surgeon General's office. In order to staff this office, we began
recruiting and reassigning staff from throughout the Department - in all
more than 700 staff were devoted to this effort.
As recounted by historians, the hundreds of detailees constituted a
formidable strike force, albeit a somewhat unlikely combination of
everything from bench scientists, veterinarians, and nurses to
pharmacists, researchers, and medical officers. Above all, however,
these were men and women who through their bravery, commitment and
heroism would come to mark their place in the history of the civil rights
movement.
This group of 750 volunteers exhibited the determination,
commitment, and inspiration that Secretary Thompson always says
makes our Department, the Department with the best of public servants
in the federal government. In one recounting of a critical moment in the
countdown to Medicare compliance, staff were faced with the need to
get files to regional offices but faced a pilot's strike that shut down
airmail service. This, of course, was long before Federal Express, faxes,
or email. Refusing to be daunted, some staff got in cars and drove files
to Charlottesville and New York. The Surgeon General cut military
orders for senior public health officers and sent them to Andrews Air
Force base to fly on military planes to deliver the rest.
This indeed is public service at its best. No wonder when he
addressed the Nation on the eve of launching Medicare on June 30,
1966, President Johnson told the American people "Since I signed this
historic act last summer, we have made more extensive preparation to
launch this program than for any other peaceful undertaking in our
Nation's history."
On behalf of the Surgeon General's Office, I am honored and
delighted to recognize some of those extraordinary individuals from the
original group of this Department who have traveled from near and far
to be here with us today…. George Allen, William Barnes, Howard
Bennett, Bobby Childers, Marilyn Rose, Marie Chretien, Daniel Galvan,
Ruth McVey, and Miles Schulze. They represent our Department's
original freedom fighters who made great sacrifices and exhibited great
determination and dedication to the cause of desegregation - often, as
you'll hear, in the face of concerted resistance. They are champions in
every sense of the word and I'd like to share some of their stories as we
thank and honor each of these civil rights champions who have been
able to join us today.
OCR CHAMPIONS
George Allen
George Allen played a key role in desegregating hospitals in East Texas
and Louisiana - areas of the country where some hospitals were quite
resistant to integration and the obligation to comply with Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act.
George recalls some hospitals that went to incredible lengths - including
outright fraud - to get past the Federal investigators. In one site
inspection he conducted, to convince George and other members of his
team that it no longer operated segregated wards, the hospital actually
asked African American employees to pretend they were patients and lie
in hospital beds in rooms with white patients.
Following his work in hospital desegregation in the 1960's, George
continued to be a staunch civil rights advocate in OCR's Dallas regional
office, where he retired earlier this year after 37 years of dedicated
service.
William Barnes
William Barnes also conducted hospital reviews in areas considered
bastions of segregation and discrimination. As an investigator in the
Atlanta Office for Equal Health Opportunity, Bill played a lead role on
teams addressing segregated hospitals in Mississippi and the Southeast.
Bill recalls the local hostility - possibly difficult to appreciate today -
that these federal investigators faced. For instance, local sheriffs often
were on the look out for rental cars, knowing that they were driven by
"the feds," and frequently stopped the drivers to detain them from
conducting hospital investigations. On one occasion when Bill was
inspecting a hospital, he was actually arrested by a local sheriff and
charged with driving a stolen car, only to be released later with clear
confirmation from the rental car company.
Mr. Barnes will retire next month after 44 years of Federal service. He
devoted 38 years of this service to civil rights enforcement, primarily at
the Department of Education.
Howard Bennett
Howard Bennett was one of the original half dozen staff members
leading the Title VI compliance effort from Washington, DC. He had a
unique and important role: In May and June 1966, in the run-up to
Medicare implementation on July 1, 1966, Howard was responsible for
producing a daily report for the President on the effort. The report
highlighted the progress of the Department's army of 750 volunteers
toward the goal of ensuring that facilities participating in Medicare did
not engage in segregation.
Mr. Bennett went on to play a lead role at the Office for Civil Rights
headquarters, where he served in key management and budget roles.
When Mr. Bennett retired after more than 40 years of public service in
1989, he was surprised to learn that a chart he had quickly drawn up
highlighting Federal resources devoted to OCR's Title VI compliance
efforts during the early enforcement years had become a part of
President Johnson's official presidential library collection.
Bobby Childers
Bobby Childers played a critical role on hospital review teams in
Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia as well as
Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Given his success in educating hospitals about the benefits of Medicare
participation, and about requirements to dismantle so-called "separate
but equal" services, Bobby was assigned to handle mental health
agencies and hospitals in other regions which had strongly resisted
compliance.
Bobby also worked hard to enlist labor unions as allies in the fight to
desegregate hospitals in the South.
Following his efforts to ensure Title VI compliance, Mr. Childers
returned to Federal service at the Social Security Administration, where
he served as a district manager.
Marie Chretien
Like many others, Marie Chretien did not expect to become involved in
civil rights enforcement. She was a nurse at a public health hospital in
New Orleans when she was drafted to participate in the hospital reviews.
Soon, however, she was playing an important role in desegregating the
nation's hospitals. In Mississippi, Marie observed and documented
hallmarks of hospital segregation that included: separate entrances and
separate waiting rooms for black and white patients, separate wings and
floors based on race, and room assignments that were made solely on the
basis of race.
Ms. Chretian would go on to become not just a full-fledged investigator
for the Office for Civil Rights, but one of the Office's longest-serving
Regional Managers.
Daniel Galvan
Dan Galvan was the lead investigator of 18 comprehensive hospital
reviews in New Orleans. Dan understood the potential for Medicare to
serve a powerful vehicle to integrate America's health care system.
In the context of his lead role in the effort to desegregate the nation's
hospitals, Dan repeatedly had to deal with the view of established
medical associations and organizations that segregation of services was
somehow the right and natural course of action.
Dan realized two important things early on: First, doctors would listen
more readily to a fellow doctor; and, second, that money talks. So Dan
began to bring a physician with him who explained how Medicare would
provide assistance in their programs, as Dan explained the legal
responsibilities of participants to comply with Title VI.
Following the work he did to desegregate the nation's hospitals, Mr.
Galvan served in key management roles in the Dallas Regional Office of
the Office for Civil Rights for many years.
Ruth McVay
Ruth McVay represents many others who played an unsung role. In
addition to conducting site visits, her job involved painstaking, round the
clock paperwork, as her Baltimore-based team raced toward the July 1,
1966 Medicare finish line. Ruth was instrumental in reviewing and
signing off on the reports from the hospital site visits that would enable
the agency to review hospital compliance, and qualify complying
hospitals for participation in the Medicare program.
Ruth also prepared, on a daily basis, a statistical report required by the
Department of Justice showing hospitals in and out of compliance. In
those final weeks, Ruth and her team often worked until 2:00 AM, and
started the next day at 6:00 AM.
Ms. McVay devoted her entire career to civil rights enforcement,
working from the headquarters office of the Office for Civil Rights.
Marilyn Rose
Marilyn Rose was a member of the General Counsel's staff at HEW.
When she heard about President Johnson's decision in March of 1964 to
implement civil rights in the new Medicare program, however, the fire
was lit - she knew that she wanted to be a part of the historic effort to
ensure that Federal funds for this new program would only go to health
care facilities that did not discriminate on the basis of race.
Marilyn played a key role in developing and bringing cases against state
mental health agencies, and experienced the political pressure that came
to bear upon administrators of those facilities as - willingly or
unwillingly - they took the needed steps to comply with Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act.
Ms. Rose went on to a career in civil rights enforcement at the Center for
Law and Social Policy, and subsequently became an Administrative Law
judge.
Miles Schulze
Miles Schulze dealt with some of the most entrenched segregated
practices and facilities. At one of the facilities, the Confederate
Memorial Medical Center, negotiations with the administrators and
board were long and contentious. The Center went to great lengths to
resist Title VI compliance efforts, including attempting to enlist
politicians as allies.
However, perseverance paid off, and after half a dozen site visits and a
full year of negotiations, the Center finally agreed to serve people of all
races in the same manner.
Mr. Schultze also played an important role in the next Title VI
compliance undertaking - the push to desegregate the nation's nursing
homes.
Mr. Schulze went on to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for
Civil Rights before completing his many years of Federal Service at the
EPA.
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