Melissa Evelyn Thompson Coppin ( c. 1878 – September 27, 1940) was an American physician. Coppin was the tenth African American woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. She was also known for the creation of the children's welfare group, the Women's Christian Alliance (WCA).
Biography
Melissa Evelyn Thompson was born around 1878. [1] When she graduated from the Women's Medical College (now the Medical College of Pennsylvania) in 1900, and she became the tenth African American woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. [2] [3]
In August 1914, Coppin married African Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop Levi J. Coppin. [4] Her husband's wedding present to her was a new car, and which the couple used to drive to their honeymoon at Cape May. [4] Melissa Thompson Coppin was Levi's third wife and together, they had one daughter, Theodosia. [5] Levi died in 1924. [5]
After the end of World War I, Coppin felt there was a need to create a place for young African American women and families who were migrating into the city. [2] Coppin founded the Women's Christian Alliance (WCA) as a child welfare agency, daycare and shelter in Philadelphia in 1919. [6] [2] Coppin's sister, Dr. Syrene Elizabeth Thompson Benjamin, was involved with WCA until 1927, when the sisters disagreed over the "direction of the agency." [7]
Coppin died on September 27, 1940. [8]
References
- ^ Beckford, Geraldine Rhoades (2011). Biographical Dictionary of American Physicians of African Ancestry, 1800-1920. Cherry Hill, New Jersey: Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers, Inc. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-937622-18-3.
- ^ a b c Sabbath 2001, p. 25.
- ^ Aptheker, Bettina (1982). Woman's Legacy: Essays on Race, Sex, and Class in American History. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-0870233654 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ a b "Bishop Marries Baltimore Woman". The Denver Star. 1914-08-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Murphy, Larry G.; Melton, J. Gordon; Ward, Gary L. (2013-11-20). Encyclopedia of African American Religions. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-51345-0.
- ^ Sabbath 1994, p. 91.
- ^ Sabbath 1994, p. 92.
- ^ "Deaths". The Journal of the American Medical Association. 115 (18): 1565. November 2, 1940. doi: 10.1001/jama.1940.02810440057019 – via Internet Archive.
Sources
- Sabbath, Tawana Ford (March 1994). "Social Work Services and Social Work Training for African Americans in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1900-1930". The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare. 21 (1): 84–95. doi: 10.15453/0191-5096.2110.
- Sabbath, Tawana Ford (2001). "African Americans and Social Work in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1900-1913". In Carlton-LaNey, Iris B. (ed.). African American Leadership: An Empowerment Tradition in Social Welfare History. Washington, D.C.: NASW Press. ISBN 9780871013170 – via Internet Archive.
- 1878 births
- 1940 deaths
- Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania alumni
- 20th-century American women physicians
- 20th-century American physicians
- Scientists from Philadelphia
- Physicians from Pennsylvania
- African-American women physicians
- 20th-century African-American women
- 20th-century African-American physicians