Eliza Ann Grier
Eliza Anna Grier (1864–1902) was an American physician and the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in the U.S. state of Georgia. Grier was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1864 to Emily and George Washington Grier. Although she was born after the Emancipation Proclamation, she was born enslaved as she resided in the part of North Carolina not occupied by the Union Army.
Quotes
[edit]- When I saw a colored woman doing all the work in cases of accouchement, and all the fee going to a white doctor who merely looked on, I asked myself, should I not get the fee myself?
- I have no money and no source from which to get it, only as I work for every dollar. Do you know any way that might be provided for an emancipated slave to receive any help into this lofty profession? If you cannot do otherwise, then give me a chance, a fair chance.
- I went to Philadelphia, studied medicine hard, procured my degree, and have come back to Atlanta where I have lived all my life, to practice my profession. Some of the best white doctors in the city have welcomed me and say that they will give me an even chance in the profession. That is all I ask.
