Title
Celebrating the Life and Honoring the Memory of Trailblazing Physician, Researcher, and Humanitarian, Dr. Edith Peterson Mitchell.
Body
WHEREAS, Dr. Edith Mitchell was a retired Brigadier General of the United States Air Force and an oncologist who shattered racial and gender barriers, influenced the lives and careers of countless individuals, and left a legacy of excellence in medicine, academia, and human rights; and
WHEREAS, Born in 1948, young Edith was raised in Brownsville, Tennessee during widespread racial segregation in the United States, and as she grew older, she became increasingly aware that the medical care that she and her family could access was inferior to the better-resourced facilities reserved for white people; and
WHEREAS, As a young adult with an eye toward correcting this injustice, Dr. Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Tennessee State University, then joined the United States Air Force while attending Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, where she was the only Black female enrolled; and
WHEREAS, During her college years, Edith also became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., heralding a lifetime of service with pride and distinction alongside her sisters, including as an active, longtime member of Omega Omega Chapter, the oldest and largest of AKA's graduate chapters. She was also a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Links, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, After completing her internship and residency in internal medicine at Meharry Medical College and working at Andrews Air Force Base as a hematologist, Dr. Mitchell joined the faculty of the University of Missouri, which in 1991 honored her with its Distinguished Service Award; and
WHEREAS, In 1993, in the wake of widespread flooding in Missouri and Mississippi, Dr. Mitchell led a team of microbiologists in averting a public health crisis by providing safe drinking water and hepatitis vaccinations, leading to her appointment as Missou...
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