In the first decades of the twentieth century, medical experts insisted that Blacks were not susceptible to polio, based on presumed biological differences between Blacks and whites that had, conversely, also been used to allege that Blacks were more vulnerable to syphilis.
There is of course no racial difference in susceptibility to polio, or to syphilis, or to most other medical conditions. There are substantial racial differences in how we treat and approach medical conditions, and an equally long history of grappling with bringing an equitable approach to treating these conditions.
President Roosevelt claimed he had overcome polio at Warm Springs’ polio rehabilitation center. During the 1936 presidential campaign, Roosevelt was confronted about the center’s all-white admission policy. Roosevelt, who enjoyed extraordinary support among Black voters, responded by announcing, in 1937, the formation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (later called, The March of Dimes), which soon became the nation’s largest disease philanthropy, and quickly announced “the disease attacked all races.”
Read the full piece on The Turning Point.