In celebration of Black History Month, the Humanities Committee of MUSC hosted its first monthly book club meeting at the Avery Research Center Feb. 24. This month’s book was “The Good Doctors” by Dr. John Dittmer, who is currently a history professor at DePauw University. Dittmer led the audience in a discussion and sold signed copies of his book.
To begin the meeting, Dittmer gave a brief background of the struggle for social equality in health care during the civil rights movement. In his book, Dittmer tells the story of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, from its early development to its national achievements. According to Dittmer, these unsung heroes provided health care for demonstrators at the Freedom Summer, the March on Selma and numerous other demonstrations throughout the civil rights movement. The committee eventually became the impetus for the National Comprehensive Community Health Center Movement, which led to around 1,000 centers serving 15 million people in America today.
Dittmer then engaged the audience in a discussion stemming from the topic of his book. The audience, mostly comprised of adults, conversed with the historian about racism in the South and current health care issues among people of all races. He emphasized the importance of rural practitioners in America today.
He said he spent a year sorting through and reading paperwork on the Medical Committee for Human Rights, and from that experience he learned about writing and the difficulties of searching for information to support a pre-existing idea.
“I’m a frustrated novelist,” he said. “Never get ahead of your story.”
MUSC faculty and students mostly comprise the Humanities Committee, but there was a C of C representative at the meeting. Dr. Kathleen Béres Rogers, an English professor at C of C, said the committee is looking to expand and involve more students.
Any students who have an interest in humanities-related books and films are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings. The committee will meet on March 24 at 6 p.m. in the public library to watch and discuss the film “Healing Words.” They also welcome any suggestions for the upcoming months. For more information, e-mail Mary Ann Kohli at maryannkohli@gmail.com.