Anton and Rose Zverina Lecture, Spring 2026

Reconstructing the Mission of Medicine: Racial Reform in the
Medical Archive with Dr. Adam Biggs
March 3rd, 2026, 4:30pm – 6:00pm

In this lecture, Dr. Adam Biggs will explore how Black doctors used professional medicine to advocate for racial justice in the United States during the 20th century, situating their endeavors at the intersection of two parallel historical trends, the Flexner-era reforms in medical education and the New Negro Movement. This movement was a directed effort by Black civic leaders to recraft the public image of their race through the lens of civic modernity. Biggs argues that within the Black medical community, the construct of the “New Negro” served as a model for health, healing, and professional legitimacy. Black doctors, in turn, used medicine as a tool to position themselves, their patients, and their communities as citizens worthy of social equality and civic inclusion. By reconstructing their use of medicine in the service of racial justice, Dr. Biggs’s research demonstrates how the role of professional medicine evolved in 20th century American society while further documenting the determinant impact of race on understandings of health and healing.

Adam Biggs is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research explores how early-twentieth century Black doctors used professional medicine to advocate for racial justice and examines how understandings of academic and professional merit are shaped by racial politics. His current book project titled, Strange Cures: Black Doctors, Harlem Hospital, and the New Negro in American Medicine, 1919-1935, examines the role Black doctors played in the desegregation of Harlem Hospital.

The event will be held on Zoom and in person at:
Allen Memorial Medical Library, Herrick Room
11000 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106

Register to attend on Zoom or in person

Link to Forest City Hospital Collection