Until the mid 1960’s, “whites-only” hospitals in St. Petersburg, even those founded by religious orders, refused to treat blacks. The city’s black citizens were instead provided with an underfunded, understaffed, under-equipped hospital that was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The ironically named Mercy Hospital, the only local hospital where African Americans could be treated from 1923 to 1966, had only 20 beds and was forced to borrow medical instruments from the whites-only Mound Park Hospital.

We still live with inequality in healthcare. The Foundation For a Healthy St. Petersburg and UNITE Pinellas are working to raise awareness about important factors of health equity.

You can also visit the Historic Mercy Hospital gallery located in the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Health Center, 1344 22nd St. S, St. Petersburg.