Leonidas Berry Papers

Biographical Note

Leonidas Berry, 1902-1995
Prominent gastroenterologist Leonidas H. Berry was born July 20, 1902 in Woodsdale, N.C. His parents were Llewellyn L. Berry, an African Methodist Episcopal Church minister, and Beulah Ann Harris, a schoolteacher.

Berry earned two bachelor of science degrees: one from Wilberforce University in 1924 and another from the University of Chicago in 1925. He earned a medical degree from Rush Medical College in 1929 and a master of science in pathology from the University of Illinois in 1933. Berry also received an honorary doctorate of science from Wilberforce University in 1945 and an honorary law degree from Lincoln University in 1983.

From 1929 to 1930, Berry interned at the Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. In 1931 he entered residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and became the first black intern at this facility. Berry completed his internal medicine and gastroenterology residency at Cook County Hospital in 1935. In 1934 he became a junior attending physician in gastroenterology at Chicago’s Provident Hospital, the first black-owned and operated hospital in the United States. One year after this appointment, Berry became the chairman of the hospital’s Division of Gastroenterology and held this position until 1970. At Provident, Berry also was the chairman of the Department of Medicine from 1947 to 1949 and senior attending physician from 1963 to 1980.

While working at Provident, Berry joined the staff at Michael Reese Hospital in 1946 and became the first black physician on staff at this facility. For 17 years, he engaged in a battle over his application to be named to the attending staff at Michael Reese Hospital. When Berry made his first formal application in 1959, he was already known worldwide as one of the most distinguished gastroenterologists. He also had taught gastroenterology at Cook County Hospital and at Michael Reese Hospital for 17 years. Yet he was repeatedly deemed “not qualified” for the rank of attending staff. On December 10, 1963, Berry made one final appeal to a Michael Reese Trustee Board committee. At the age of 61 he told the committee that it was the civil rights movement that convinced him to refuse to wait any longer. “I have spent many years of crushing disappointment at the threshold of opportunity,” he wrote, “keeping my lamps trimmed and bright for a bride that never came.” On December 20, 1963, Michael Reese Hospital named Berry to its attending staff. For the rest of his career, Berry held the position of senior attending physician at Michael Reese Hospital.

In the 1930s Berry studied under Dr. Rudolph Schindler, a gastroenterologist who developed the first practical gastroscope in 1932. Schindler’s gastroscope “consisted of rubberized semi-flexible tubing that contained lenses and a tiny electric light; by sliding it into the stomach via the mouth, an examining physician could observe a living stomach.” After learning how to operate the gastroscope, Berry began using this instrument to study the lining of the stomachs of individuals severely addicted to alcohol. In 1941, he presented his findings in a paper at the American Medical Association’s annual convention, becoming the first African American to present a paper to AMA.

His studies under Schindler and his work on chronic gastritis eventually led to his development of the Eder-Berry gastrobiopsy-scope in 1955. This device was “the first direct vision suction instrument for removing diseased tissue from the stomach for microscopic examination.” By the late 1960s, Berry was hailed as “one of the leading gastroenterologists in the world.”

Throughout his career, Berry conducted many groundbreaking studies in the field of gastroenterology and endoscopy, and published his findings in numerous articles in medical journals, books and monographs. He published 84 articles in local, national and international medical journals and contributed to and/or authored 12 books and monographs. In 1974 he published much of his work in his authoritative textbook, Gastrointestinal Pan-Endoscopy . Berry authored 15 chapters in this text; contributors wrote the remaining 20 chapters. He also wrote a remarkable work of family history, entitled I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ for My Journey: Two Centuries of an African American Minister’s Family . Published in 1981, it opened doors for Berry to speak at historical associations.

Berry was a member of numerous national and international organizations. He was one of the first black doctors to be admitted to the previously all-white American Medical Association. He was a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Subspecialty Board of Gastroenterology and the National Board of Medical Examiners, a member of the American Gastroscopic Society and a fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine. He also was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and the Woodlawn A.M.E. Church in Chicago.

He served as president of the National Medical Association and the Cook County Physicians’ Association. He wrote articles on the history of African Americans in medicine for the Journal of the National Medical Association . As president of the Cook County Physicians’ Association, he developed a citywide plan for treating young narcotics addicts. Known as the Berry Plan, it called for the “establishment of medical counseling clinics providing prevention and follow-up care of young drug users. It was implemented and operated by the Illinois State Department of Health for eight years, with Berry as its coordinator.”

Berry received many awards and citations, including the University of Chicago Alumni Achievement Award, Rush Medical College Distinguished Service Award and a Certificate of Merit for Scientific Exhibits from the Chicago Medical Society. He also received the National Medical Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1958, the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy’s Rudolph Schindler Award in 1977, the First Annual Clinical Achievement Award from the American College of Gastroenterology in 1988, the Freedom Award for Public Service from the Chicago Chapter of the NAACP in 1989 and Rush Medical College’s Trustee Medal of Honor in 1991.

In addition to his work and accomplishments in the medical field, Berry was actively involved in community service, specifically civil rights and the study of African American history and life. He was a founding member of the Chicago Council for Biomedical Careers. The council provided education and resources to encourage and prepare African American youth for careers in medicine. Berry also set up an innovative drug treatment clinic in Chicago.

Berry was dedicated to bringing medical care to African American communities that had none. In the 1960s, Berry along with Dr. Jasper Williams and more than two dozen other Chicago medical professionals organized the Flying Black Medics. The Flying Black Medics consisted of nurses, pharmacists, social workers, dieticians, paramedics and biochemists from Chicago. With assistance from the Williams Brothers Medical Clinic, which provided aircraft service, the Flying Black Medics flew to Cairo, Ill., to address the medical needs of its impoverished residents, even during the Cairo race riots of 1970. Regularly the Flying Black Medics brought medical services and supplies to this community. They also set up a medical clinic in the basement of Ward Chapel A.M.E Church.

In recognition of Berry’s pioneering contributions to gastroenterology and to ensure continued work in the field, the Leonidas H. Berry Society for Digestive Diseases was established in 1980. As stated in the society’s bylaws, its purpose “shall be to unify physicians, surgeons and other scientists in the broad field of gastroenterology who are dedicated to encouragement of continued excellence in clinical medicine, research and educational field with high priority and emphasis on human values for all patients regardless of race, sex and religion. The organization shall encourage recruitment of young physicians in the special care of patients with digestive disorders and to promote excellence and progress in this field with the equality of opportunity for all.”

Berry married twice: in 1937 to Ophelia Flannigan Harrison and in 1959 to Emma Willis. With Ophelia, Berry had one daughter, Judith Ann Berry.

On December 4, 1995, at age 93, Leonidas Berry passed away at his home in Chicago. His funeral, held at Griffin Funeral Home, was attended by an extraordinary number of physicians, nurses and civil rights activists.

Sources

• Berry, Leonidas. I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ for My Journey: Two Centuries of an African American Minister’s Family . Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1981.
• Carey, Charles W., Jr. African Americans in Science: An Encyclopedia of People and Progress, Volume 1 . Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc., 2008.
• Editors of Ebony. The Ebony Success Library: 1,000 Successful Blacks, Volume 1 . Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1973.
• Russaw, Ethel H. Call the Roll: Laity in the African Methodist Episcopal Church . Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse Publishing, 2011.

Scope and Content Note

The Leonidas Berry Papers document the life and career of Leonidas Berry and include important materials illuminating the history of Provident Hospital. This collection is arranged into 11 series: Biography, Manuscripts, Correspondence, Provident Hospital and Cook County Hospital, Programs, Civil Rights and Subject Files, African American Medical History, Organization Files, Serials, Photographs and Memorabilia.

Related papers at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection include the Ulysses Grant Dailey Papers, the T.R.M. Howard Papers, the James Richardson Papers, the Abbott-Sengstacke Family Papers, the National Black Nurses Association (Chicago Chapter) Archives and the Madeline Stratton Morris Papers.

Series 1: Biography, 1928-1993
This series contains biographical materials. Of particular interest are correspondence, promotional materials and articles related to Leonidas Berry’s autobiography, I Wouldn’t Take Nothin’ for My Journey, and his textbook, Gastrointestinal Pan-Endoscopy. Also included are genealogical and family history records, as well as clippings documenting Berry’s work and accomplishments in the medical field.

Series 2: Manuscripts, 1935-1994
The manuscripts have been arranged chronologically and consist mainly of medical articles and essays by Leonidas Berry. Also included are manuscripts composed by others, including Ulysses Grant Dailey, Judith Berry, Reverend L.L. Berry, Madison Grant, Justice Gleen Johnson, Joseph E. Madison, Sheldon S. Waldstein and Charles H. Wright.

Series 3: Correspondence, 1938-1994
This series consists primarily of correspondence written to Leonidas Berry. Some notable correspondents include Claude Barnett, W. Montague Cobb, Lyndon B. Johnson and John H. Sengstacke.

Series 4: Provident Hospital and Cook County Hospital, 1891-1993
Arranged chronologically, the Provident Hospital and Cook County Hospital series details Leonidas Berry’s tenure at these medical facilities. This series also documents the history of Provident Hospital, its closing and its reopening as a unit of Cook County Hospital. Included are correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, research proposals and clippings.

Series 5: Programs, 1915-1991
The Program series contains programs of events and activities attended by Leonidas Berry.

Series 6: Civil Rights and Subject Files, 1941-1993
The Civil Rights Files document Leonidas Berry’s efforts to end discrimination in the medical profession and provide improved medical care to impoverished African Americans in southern Illinois. Of particular interest are records on the Morris v. Chicago Hospital Council lawsuit and Flying Black Medics.

The Subject Files include records on various subjects related to the African American experience and history.

Series 7: African American Medical History, 1933-1995
The African American Medical History series consists of articles and reports from the Journal of the National Medical Association and other sources (such as the Chicago Tribune , American Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the Liberian Medical Association ) collected by Leonidas Berry.

Series 8: Organization Files, 1941-1995
This series details Leonidas Berry’s involvement in numerous organizations including, but not limited to, the Leonidas H. Berry Society for Digestive Diseases, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, Chicago Urban League, Cook County Physicians’ Association and the National Medical Association.

Series 9: Serials, 1963-1990
This series comprises serials collected by Leonidas Berry. Some of the serials include American Journal of Gastroenterology , Harvard Journal of Negro Affairs and The Journal of Negro History .

Series 10: Photographs, 1891-1993
Photographs provide visual documentation of Leonidas Berry’s life and work. Included are photographs of Berry’s family, travels, and medical research and work.

Series 11: Memorabilia, 1942-1991
Memorabilia consists of business cards, invitations, certificates and citations, poems and sheet music. Of particular interest are busts of Dr. Daniel Hale Williams and Imhotep.

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