Dr. Thornton Was Inspired by Her Parents
The doctor was denied proper facilities and funding and was often passed over for promotion, but she hung in there. She told Nance-Nash that her father's advice to her was "...it is what it is, Cookie. You're not there to be loved, but to take care of sick patients." She wrote her first book, The Ditchdigger's Daughters, about how her father, starting out his life in a Harlem tenement, said all five of his daughters would be doctors. Four of the five achieved the goal and became physicians. The book was made into a movie. Dr. Thornton has recently released a second book, also a memoir, called Something to Prove: A Daughter's Journey to Fulfill a Father's Legacy.
Dr. Thornton raised two children while carrying forward her medical career. Asked about whether or not it was worth it to have children under her circumstances, she said, "When it came to being a wife and mother, my mother was my role model. She taught us that no amount of success at work would make up for failure at home."
When Nance-Nash asked Dr. Thornton what she would like to be remembered for, what her legacy would be, she said, "That I was one dark-skinned black woman who defied everyone, and that I would spend the hours, do whatever it took, to get the job done. I delivered more than 5,000 babies and have overseen 12,000 deliveries. I have my family. I have enjoyed my life."
In thinking back on your own life, did your parents offer you similarly good and supportive advice? Did you go forward with their help or in spite of what they wanted for you?
Never encouraged ..just went ahead
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Well, I am on the side of medicine being allied with science, especially at the college/university level. I've seen how doctors are taught in med schools, and at times (I'm thinking Grand Rounds, etc), it's very logical and evidence-based. But I can't deny that there is A LOT of memorization. You don't want your doctor not to know what something is, when it needs treatment, I guess.
I think this woman faced the same set of issues as women in science in a broader context face, and carried on with the same kind of confidence and focus we need to persist in the face of inconsistent and at times lacking support.
By the way, Laura, I'm pleased to see these features on black women succeeding; I save them so I can mention them in class when I have black women students. I think even such low-key role modeling can be an encouragement to them.
My parents were not very supportive but I had two teachers who went out of their way to support me and encourage me to think about science. Because of my experience, I think just an older person who cares about you and agrees you fit well with science is the magic recipe, not having to be a parent. I wish the elementary school teachers were not so afraid of science. They faint in coils if it comes up at PTA and even if I offer to come in and help, they turn white and tremble. What happened to them to make them so scared? I didn't go to school in this country, so I really don't understand what is their problem.
I love the comments in this thread! Your parents were inspiring to you, for sure. It's heartwarming to hear about them. My mom and dad supported my science fair efforts. I think my dad was more interested, as an engineer, but mom also took the position that you can be and do whatever you want if you work at it. Parents can be the anti-society, fight the Barbie effect, for women who are attracted to science, for sure.
cheers,
Laura
I am the first person in my family to go to college, much less graduate school. And I wouldn't have made it even to college without the support of my single mom who never tired of telling me that education was a way out for not just someone on welfare as we were during my childhood, but especially for a woman. She made sure I never turned down an opportunity to learn something. And she supported me in throughout high school to get into a new science magnet and AP classes that were brand new to our school.
So yes, my mom made sure I knew she thought I could and should pursue what I was passionate about.
I was a bit taken aback by your evident opinion that a physician is a woman in science. I guess it's reasonable since she did need to take years of science study to get to her position. But taking care of people is a quintessentially female-type job, while discovering new things about the universe (accent on "things") seems much more male-type in the old formulation. I forget sometimes that medicine was also discriminating against women, and this story is a good reminder of that. And very interesting that she felt it was more her female-ness than her black-ness that contradicted what they expected.
My father took a great interest in my early experiments and bought me a chemistry set. My mother was scandalised and wanted to take it back but he would not. We had fun, made all kinds of smelly messes. My favorite part of chemistry was making crystals...oops, something pretty. I got good at it, and even now that's a plus in structural biology.
My mom was a mathematician so she encouraged me, said women could do it just as much as men. My dad was OK with me doing science. Maybe not quite as much as if I had been a son. He wasn't the paradigmatic father of a woman in science.
My dad was happy to encourage me to do science fairs and think about a career in science. I think my mom would have liked me to do something more "feminine" and artsy. But she didn't stand in my way.
