Connie Yerwood Conner ( c. 1908 – June 11, 1991) was a Texas physician and first black doctor to serve on the Texas Department of Health.
Conner was born in Victoria, Texas, and grew up in Austin. [1] Early on, she decided she wanted to be a doctor. [2] Conner's father was a physician and as a young woman, she and her sister Joyce Yerwood spent time with her father on the job. [3] In 1925, she graduated from Samuel Huston College. [1] Then Conner graduated cum laude from Meharry Medical College in 1933. [3] Conner's residency was in pediatrics, but she eventually became more interested in public health and so went back to school on scholarship to study at the University of Michigan. [2]
Conner became the first black woman to work for the Texas Department of Health in 1937. [4] She was involved in training midwives in East Texas and set up wellness clinics in rural Texas. [2] Conner was passed over for promotions regularly until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. [4] She was the first black woman director of the Maternal and Child Health in Texas. [5] By the time she retired in 1977, she had been promoted to the director of health services in Texas. [2]
Conner died on June 11, 1991, in Austin. [1] She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Austin, Texas. [3]
Connie Yerwood Conner ( c. 1908 – June 11, 1991) was a Texas physician and first black doctor to serve on the Texas Department of Health.
Conner was born in Victoria, Texas, and grew up in Austin. [1] Early on, she decided she wanted to be a doctor. [2] Conner's father was a physician and as a young woman, she and her sister Joyce Yerwood spent time with her father on the job. [3] In 1925, she graduated from Samuel Huston College. [1] Then Conner graduated cum laude from Meharry Medical College in 1933. [3] Conner's residency was in pediatrics, but she eventually became more interested in public health and so went back to school on scholarship to study at the University of Michigan. [2]
Conner became the first black woman to work for the Texas Department of Health in 1937. [4] She was involved in training midwives in East Texas and set up wellness clinics in rural Texas. [2] Conner was passed over for promotions regularly until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. [4] She was the first black woman director of the Maternal and Child Health in Texas. [5] By the time she retired in 1977, she had been promoted to the director of health services in Texas. [2]
Conner died on June 11, 1991, in Austin. [1] She is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Austin, Texas. [3]