Negritude: The Cure is to Become White

Benjamin Rush (1745-1813), Father of American Psychiatry, Dean of the Mecial School at the University of Pennsylvania and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, described "Negritude" as a mild form of leprosy "that included symptoms such as Blackening of the skin, big lips, flat nose, wooly hair, and smell." The cure was to become White. Since that was not possible, Blackness became "a patholigical incurable medical condition" (Randall, 2006).



- Randall, V. R. (2006). Dying While Black. An indepth look at a crisis in the American healthcare system. Dayton: Seven Principles Press
- photograph by Bruce Davidson via