Museum gotta see ‘um

“A SHORT GLIMPSE OF A LONG ROAD”: DR. JAMES L. HUTCHINSON SPEAKS AT THE SAN MATEO COUNTY HISTORY MUSEUM. On Jan. 25 at 1 p.m., the San Mateo County History Museum presents Dr. James L. Hutchinson, San Mateo County’s first African American physician, who will speak about his autobiography, “A Short Glimpse of a Long Road: A Vignette of Dr. James Hutchinson’s Life.” A book signing will follow the presentation. The talk is part of the museum’s “Courthouse Docket” program sponsored by Cypress Lawn Heritage Foundation. It will be free with the price of admission to the museum ($6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors) and will take place in the museum’s historic “Courtroom A”, 2200 Broadway within the 110-year-old “Old Courthouse” in Redwood City. For more information go to www.historysmc.org or call 299-0104.

ABOUT DR. HUTCHINSON. Born in 1923 in Shreveport, Louisiana, James L. Hutchinson earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Wiley College in Texas before serving in the U.S. Armed Forces Medical Department in North Africa and Europe during World War II. Upon return, he attended Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, which was one of two institutions educating black physicians at the time, and graduated in 1950. His background serving in the medical corps of the military gave him a “taste of the world.” Dr. Hutchinson became one of the 6 million to migrate across the United States in search of better treatment and opportunities during the African American “Great migration” (1917-1970). Resettlement outside of the harsh realities of Jim Crow became a pattern for black doctors. Census data shows that by 1930, 40% of the nation’s black physicians resided outside of the South, although 80% of the nation’s almost 12 million African Americans still lived in the South. Facing scant opportunities in the South, Dr. Hutchinson accepted an offer of residency at Sacramento Community Hospital. He got in his car and made it to California easily enough, but found once he arrived that life was not free from all racism. Once Dr. Hutchinson completed his internship and residency at Sacramento County General, he decided to open his own practice near his home in San Mateo. “Renting an office was very difficult. One excuse after another,” he recalled. During the day, he operated out of the office of Dr. Mayer in Redwood City. In the evening, he used Dr. Banner’s office in San Mateo. Eventually a Realtor agreed to sell Dr. Hutchinson the three-story Victorian that still houses his practice today. Finding a willing Realtor was not the last obstacle. Local white business owners feared that their properties would lose value if Dr. Hutchinson established his practice in the neighborhood, so they challenged his permits and protested the purchase. However, Dr. Hutchinson successfully bought the building in 1952. San Mateo County now had its first Black physician.