I was approached by the pitch department behind the movie: The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital to include coverage of this important film here on our website. While the film debuted in 2018, and it’s probably not new to many readers, it is now available on DVD. Furthermore, the timing seemed right with the on-going health disparities in the black communities of America once again highlighted in the wake of COVID-19.
I was thrilled to learn of this documentary as I was just in the Ville taking photos the weekend before they contacted us.
It was kismet.
Directors Joyce Marie Fitzpatrick and Brian Shackelford have created a fantastic film with the story being told from the perspective of people who were there as well as experts and historians who have studied this important place in the city of St. Louis.
“Presented by Vision Films, The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital not only tells the astonishing history of the first all-black hospital in St. Louis, but also recognizes and celebrates the achievements of the brave healthcare workers who were among the first black physicians and nurses to be medically trained in the United States.
Vision Films, in association with Flatcat-Productions, LLC, and Tunnel Vizion Films, Inc., is proud to present The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, the ground-breaking documentary that captures the long, important battle that African-Americans have fought to receive quality medical treatment and training. This timely film not only tells the astonishing history of the first all-black hospital in St. Louis but also recognizes and celebrates the achievements of the brave healthcare workers who were among the first black physicians and nurses to be medically trained in the United States.
The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital explores the role the hospital played in being one of the first institutions in the country to treat African-Americans in a safe, hygienic and sterile environment. The opening of the hospital meant that African-Americans in the community were no longer without medical care or resorting to illegal and dangerous methods of treatment. Homer G. Phillips Hospital was of utmost importance from its opening in 1937 to its dramatic closure in 1979, which incited riots in its neighborhood of “The Ville.” ”
The film runs just under two hours and is one of the best St. Louis-based documentaries I’ve seen. It is a must own. The story is told by people who worked at Homer G. Phillips, including administrative workers, RNs, doctors and others from the neighborhood.
This film starts with the history of the the Ville, segregation in St. Louis, and Homer G. Phillips, the man behind the name of the largest black hospital in the world.
It is yet another story that will make you insanely proud of St. Louisians even though you know there is the looming dread of racist and hateful actions from local politicians of the time who stole this community asset from the people in St. Louis.
Get out your Kleenex, this one will tear you up. A glorious retelling of the pride and meaning behind this place is professionally presented with awesome interviews of Homer G. Phillips alumni that are still alive and able to share their stories.
Then the gripping, heart wrenching telling of how this hospital was closed after a 20 day fight from the people of St. Louis and beyond.
You know I love my city and its history. It is part of the American story, just like any other, but we have a past that is so mired in the sins of the past that it can be hard to take. This movie is a must-watch for anyone trying to come to grips with that past, and to better understand St. Louis, especially North City, and of course the black people who made the Ville the amazing neighborhood that it is.
The movie has three main parts. First the history of the Ville and Homer G. Phillips himself, then the stories of those who worked there and how it formed them as human beings and finally the demise of the hospital on August 17th, 1979…a date that I’ll discuss later on.
There are writers, historians, civil rights activists, the owner of the St. Louis American newspaper, radio DJs and many more sharing their perspectives, but it is the stories of the men and women who worked there that will really draw you in.
Watch the trailer here:
Homer Garland Phillips (1878–1931), born John Wesley Phillips, was a prominent lawyer, anti-segregation civil rights activist, Republican political backer, community leader and owner of two prominent black St. Louis newspapers. He was shot and murdered by two men in 1931 near Aubert and Delmar. The two suspects were never convicted and his murder was never solved. The movie details the dubious surroundings of the murder.
Phillips fought for a bond issue in 1923 that would provide the funding for the much needed black hospital that eventually took his name. Breaking ground in 1933 and opening in 1937, it was deemed the world’s largest black hospital of its time. Thousands of proud citizens filled the streets to celebrate its opening, backed by the highest levels of government at the time, including Eleanor and and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as part of the New Deal.
Homer G. Phillips hospital was the pride of the neighborhood and beyond.
As one pundit claimed, “Homer G. Phillips was the Ville and the Ville was Homer G. Phillips.”
The building itself is still stunning as is the entire area including nearby Sumner High School. There is something special about this place all these year later. It is one of those places I visit that feels different…special. You can tell this was built to be important, and it most certainly is.
One interviewee described the hospital as “breathtaking". The 635-bed hospital saw 100,000 patients in it’s first year from 1937-1938. Black nurses and doctors were trained by instructors who “wouldn’t accept anything less than excellence” and taught to the highest standards of nursing and medical care.
Many prominent physicians were hatched right here, including the first black president of the American Cancer Society.
The story transitions to just how much this place meant to the residents and aspiring medical students and professionals of the time. Over 11 nurses who worked at Homer G. Phillips tell their stories of how it changed their lives forever and how the place was a beacon for African Americans at the time.
The feel good, sometimes funny, but always prideful stories then transition to the closing of the hospital, just 42 years later.
This is the part that’ll bring on that old feeling of shame and regret…get ready, folks, you’re gonna need those Kleenex again.
As National Health plans of the 1970’s started to creep in and the community/city hospitals were under pressure from all angles of society, economics and government, the hospital found a local advocate in the early to mid-1970s St. Louis, when the city elected the first black comptroller, John Bass, who saved Homer G. Phillips during his term.
The good news quickly changed when Bass was defeated by Raymond Percich the comptroller under the James Conway mayoral administration. Things went from bad to worse as the movie details the proud fight the community staged to save it under the racist acts of the current politicians. The activists and employees tracked Mayor Conway where ever he went to get answers. They held sit ins, protests and worked the political angles. They rose up in arms.
These efforts proved unsuccessful as a “flashpoint moment” occurred in 1978 when Comptroller Percich vowed not to put one cent in the city budget for Homer G. Phillips.
While the hospital officially closed on August 19th, 1979, the movie details one woman’s telling that it was actually August 17th, 1979 when the city came in and forcibly closed the hospital.
20 days of protests ensued with neighbors surrounding the hospital while helicopters hovered above and police and the National Guard stood guard while people entered the hospital to close it down. Per this woman’s perspective, “they snatched a jewel from the people in this community".”
In a powerful statement by civil rights advocate Walle Amusa: “This community did not give up the hospital, it was stolen.”
Much apathy and anger ensued following this act by St. Louis politicians. There was even talk of tearing the building down to wipe it from memory.
Luckily that didn’t happen, as the hospital has been gutted and repurposed as a senior living community.
The sound and editing it top shelf and there is some great video and still photography of St. Louis presented throughout the film for those who want to see the Ville back in the day.
That alone is cause to purchase the DVD. But it is the arc of the story and the emotional tellings of the pride and then heartbreak associated with the hospital that will stay with you.
The Color of Medicine: The Story of Homer G. Phillips Hospital is now available on digital for an SRP of $4.99 - $9.99 from platforms including iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, Xbox, Amazon, and FandangoNow, as well as cable affiliates everywhere and to buy on DVD for $12.99 online at all major retailers.
Website: https://www.thecolorofmedicine.com/
