|
June Jackson ChristmasJune Jackson Christmas (June 7, 1924 – December 31, 2023) was an American psychiatrist. She served as New York City Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services,[1] member of President Jimmy Carter transition team,[2] the beneficiary of Human-Services Award,[3] the founder of a community psychiatric program in Harlem - Harlem Rehabilitation Center.[4][5] Christmas served as a member of Governor Mario Cuomo's Advisory Committee on Black Affairs. Christmas served as vice-president of the American Psychiatric Association and the president of the Public Health Association of NYC.[6] In 1999, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Medical Fellowships. She also was a member of Vassar's Board of Trustees from 1978 to 1989.[7] She was an executive director of the Urban Issues Group, an organization with focus on issues specific to New Yorkers of African descent.[8] Early life and educationJune Jackson Christmas was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 7, 1924.[9] She experienced racism during her childhood, including being denied a prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies, denied entrance to a roller skating rink, and denied membership in the National Honor Society despite being class salutatorian.[10] Christmas was one of the first Black students admitted to Vassar College, where she graduated with a B.S. in zoology.[11][12][13] She then earned a medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine.[13] She also earned a certificate in psychoanalysis from the William Alanson White Institute.[13] CareerChristmas left private practice to set up the Harlem Hospital Rehabilitation Center and to teach at Columbia University. Her achievements with the Rehabilitation Center were later honored with awards:
Christmas was appointed Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services on August 16, 1972, by New York Mayor John Lindsay.[15] In 1976 she was part of the Jimmy Carter presidential campaign as a health advisor, and subsequently as part the Carter transition team, leading the transition of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare from Republican to Democratic hands.[2] In 1978 Mayor Ed Koch reappointed Christmas as the city's Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation.[16] Personal life and deathChristmas and her husband Walter had three children and four grandchildren.[12] She died of heart failure in The Bronx, New York City, on December 31, 2023, at the age of 99.[9] References
|
Portal di Ensiklopedia Dunia
