Series:

Black Women Activists in Los Angeles, 1950-2000

Topic:

African American History

Biographical Note:

OB/GYN, medical director, educator, preventative medicine and public health consultant. Assisting founder of the Watts Health Center and engaged member of the Watts Health Foundation.

Interviewer:

Stevenson, Alva Moore

Interviewee:

Branch, Geraldine

Persons Present:

Branch and Stevenson.

Place Conducted:

Branch's home in Los Angeles, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Alva Moore Stevenson, Interviewer and Program Representative, UCLA Center For Oral History Research; B.A., English and M.A., African American Studies (Latin American Concentration), UCLA.Stevenson prepared for the interviews by reviewing files of Branch’s life and career in addition to secondary sources on Black women activists and the history of Blacks in Los Angeles. Stevenson, as a native of Los Angeles, was already well-versed in much of the history of the Black community.

Processing of Interview:

The transcript is a verbatim transcription of the recording. It was transcribed by a professional transcribing agency using a list of proper names and specialized terminology supplied by the interviewer. Branch was then given an opportunity to review the transcript and made a number of corrections and additions. Those corrections were entered into the text without further editing or review on the part of the Center for Oral History Research staff.

Length:

7 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

This series documents black women’s activism in Los Angeles from 1950 to the present, showing how women’s roles in the professions and in religious, civic, and social organizations translated into community activism to address disparities in education, healthcare, housing and political rights and access.

Great-Grandmother Betsy Baker--Birth in Savannah, Georgia--Ancestry of Maternal Great-Grandparents and GrandparentsAncestry of Paternal Great-Grandparents and Grandparents--Their Occupations--Parents and their occupations--Contracting Meningitis in Childhood--Elementary School Experience--Role of Religion in Upbringing--Traveling to New York City on Cunard Line--Attending Secondary School and High School--Taking Regents Exam--Attending Hunter College.

Alice Woodby McKane--Training School for Black Nurses--Awarded Scholarship--Attending Hunter College--Dr. Walter Crump--Attending New York Medical SchoolResidency at Harlem Hospital--Decision to pursue Specialty in Obstetrics/Gynecology--First Practice in Newburgh, New York--Harlem during its Heyday--Decision to move to California.

OB/GYN practice in Watts--Public Health Officer for Los Angeles City/County--Attending UCLA for Masters Degree--Impetus for and Planning of Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital--Regional Medical Programs.

Watts Rebellion of 1965--More on Opening King Hospital--Opposition to HospitalCounty and Federal Support--Naming of Hospital--Charles Drew University--Current State of Local Hospitals and Healthcare--Other Institutions which arose out of Rebellion.

Margaret Sanger and Birth Control--Involvement in Seventh Day Adventist Church--Demise of Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital--Involvement with Drew Medical School--Involvement with Northeast Valley Health Corporation--McCone Commission Findings--Watts Health Foundation.

Expanded Bus Lines in South Los Angeles--105 (Century) Freeway--King Drew Medical Magnet High School--Watts Health Center--Southeast Boy’s Club--Westminster Neighborhood Association--Neighborhood Adult Participation Project--Involvement with American Red Cross.