Dr Louis T. Wright and the NAACP: pioneers in hospital racial integration.

Louis Tompkins Wright, the son of a man born into slavery, was an outstanding African American surgeon who devoted his life to the racial integration of health care in the United States. Despite the fact that both his father and stepfather were physicians, despite his innate intellectual gifts and disciplined character, Wright experienced discrimination throughout his life and career. This experience led him to fight for the rights of African Americans, both health care professionals and patients. In addition to making numerous contributions in the fields of surgery and infectious disease, Wright held leadership positions in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for more than 20 years, leaving a legacy of equity for African Americans in medical education and in health care.