Trailblazing Dr. James Sistrunk opened Broward's first Black hospital
FORT LAUDERDALE - On a sunny afternoon, Broward native Ezra Baldwin was shooting hoops at the YMCA on Sistrunk Boulevard, when Jim Berry posed this question to him.
"Sistrunk Boulevard, what do you know about the person it's named after," he asked.
"I'm not too sure who it's named after to be honest with you," replied Baldwin.
The lobby of the YMCA provides the answer.
James Franklin Sistrunk was Broward's first Black doctor. He delivered more than five thousand babies. He also helped deliver something else, Broward's first Black hospital, something that was needed at the time.
"The white doctors did not want to work on Black patients," said historian Dennis Davis.
Provident Hospital opened in 1938, fueled by Black anger after a farm truck carrying dozens of Black workers overturned near a whites-only hospital.
"They were treated outside of the hospital, but were not allowed in the hospital," asked Berry.
"They were not allowed in the hospital and the doctors wouldn't work on them," said Davis.
Fellow Dr. Von D. Mizell joined Sistrunk in co-founding the hospital, along with businesswoman Sylvia Aldridge who led the fundraising effort.
"What can we learn today from what they did," asked Berry.
"Innovation. Think innovative and be active," said Davis.
Provident Hospital remained open until 1965, a year after Sistrunk died. Now, the street where it once stood bears his name.
On the site where the hospital once treated Black patients, stands the sparkling new YMCA which opened last year.
"What would Dr. Sistrunk say if he was alive today to see this," asked Berry.
"He would probably be so elated," said Davis. "He would think that this site, where they were helping to uplift the community as well as give them medical services, that the things they have in this "Y" now do that."
The YMCA has become a community hub, with activities for kids and seniors. To Davis, its art and artifacts connect Black history in Broward with ancestral ties to people like the Dogon tribe from west Africa.
"The Dogon believe that five generations before you created the energy wherewithal that you have now. And you are creating the energy and wherewithal for five generations after you," said Davis.
This brings us back to Ezra Baldwin, the 19-year-old psychology major at Broward College. On upcoming trips to the "Y", Davis hopes Baldwin hears what the building's walls are telling him.
"Even when you're walking through some of these halls, they have a lot of history up on the walls. If you look at it you will find out about it and hopefully, it will inspire you to say that you need to be the one to pick up the next mantle and say what can I do to make the next generation better," said Davis.
