Rights Groups Challenge HEW to Halt Dixie Hospital Bias

Press Release
December 22, 1965

Rights Groups Challenge HEW to Halt Dixie Hospital Bias preview

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  • Press Releases, Volume 3. Rights Groups Challenge HEW to Halt Dixie Hospital Bias, 1965. 6fd47b8f-b692-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/b0fb1176-95c6-4557-92ab-f882a0337943/rights-groups-challenge-hew-to-halt-dixie-hospital-bias. Accessed June 01, 2025.

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New York, N.Y. 10019 
JUdson 6-8397 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE FOR RELEASE 
President Wednesday, 

Dr. Allan Knight Chalmers December 22, 1965 
Director-Counsel 

ack Greenberg 
RIGHTS GROUPS CHALLENGE HEV! 
TO HALT DIXIE HOSPITAL BIAS 

WASHINGTON----The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and 

representatives of thousands of Negro physicians last week 

questioned the sincerity of the Department of Health, Education and 

Welfare in enforcing non-discrimination provisions of the Civil 

Rights Act. 

In statements released here, the Legal Defense Fund, the 

5,000-member National Medical Association (NMA) and the 3,000- 

member Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) charged HEW 

Secretary John W. Gardner with shirking his responsibilities under 

Title VI of the Act. 

Title VI calls for withholding of Federal funds from local 

agencies that discriminate. 

Representatives of the three groups met with Assistant HElW! 

Secretary James M. Quigley, who is in charge of enforcing Title VI, 

to discuss Federal aid to medical facilities, payment of funds 

under the Medicare program and investigation of complaints of 

discrimination. 

Later, Dr. John L. S. Holloman of New York, chairman of MCHR 
and president-elect of NMA, strongly criticized Mr. Gardner for not 
attending the meeting. 

"We wonder if your failure to meet with us has racial 
implications and may be symptomatic of the reluctance of your 
department to come to grips with the discriminatory practices in 
health care," Dr, Holloman said in a telegram to the secretary. 

In a 13-page memorandum to Mr. Gardner, the Legal Defense 
Fund said that since February, more than 300 complaints of 
discrimination in medical facilities have been filed withHEW. 

The department has found only about 35 of the facilities to 
be in compliance with Title VI, yet no action has been taken against 
the remainder, the memorandum charged. 

The Legal Defense Fund urged that Medicare funds be withheld 
from hospitals practicing discrimination when the medical care 
for the elderly legislation takes effect July l. 
: Failure to do so "...would be to throw away a superb oppor- 
tunity to end racial discrimination in southern hospitals," the 
ymemorandum said, 

The Legal Defense Fund also recommended that HEl employ 
additional staff to more vigorously enforce Title VI, and urged that 
Negro nurses be protected through the law. 

250+ 

Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Riverside 9-8487 Sos

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