Mobile Medical Museum

06/19/2026

Today is Juneteenth, marking the end of slavery in the United States. Emancipation was only the first step on the road to freedom--the second was Reconstruction. Newly emancipated slaves had to be educated and trained for the new industrial jobs that were emerging if they were ever to participate on an equal basis in the cultural, civic, and economic life of the country. In 1866, the Freedmen's Bureau opened a new Freedmen's school at the former Medical College of Alabama in Mobile. A total of 420 Black and mixed-race students were transferred there from the State Street AME Zion School for Freedmen, and educated by white Northern missionaries. The founder of the Medical College, Dr. Josiah Nott, was adamantly opposed to the Freedmen's School. In a meeting with Major-General Oliver O. Howard, the superintendent of the Freedman's Bureau, Nott said he would "rather see the building burned down." Due to rising tensions, the Freedman's school was moved to a new location on Government Street in 1868 and renamed Emerson College, after its financial sponsors, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Emerson, Sr. The school later became known as Emerson Normal Institute, operating as a public school from 1927 to 1970. The Medical College, meanwhile, reopened in its original building in 1868. First picture: Letter from Dr. Nott, Advertiser and Register, September 19, 1865. Second picture: Medical College of Alabama, c. 1900.

06/17/2026

Homocea, a eucalyptus-scented fatty ointment for skin conditions, was a household name during the later decades of the 19th century thanks to its slogan 'it touches the spot'.

It evolved from a veterinary ointment that originated in British India, and this 1894 ad harks back to its early days. A lady wrote in to say that her parrot, Blossom-head, had suffered a loss of feathers. A few applications of Homocea later, Blossom-head's plumage blossomed afresh. As you can see, this also worked for men.

(Ad from The Feathered World, 6 July 1894)

06/15/2026

Join us this Friday for a free Juneteenth screening and discussion of Medicine and the Movement at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church on the DIP!

06/15/2026

06/12/2026

06/12/2026

PRESS RELEASE: EVIDENCE OF CARE BY WILL TRURAN OPENS AT MOBILE MEDICAL MUSEUM JUNE 13

For Immediate Release
June 12, 2026
Contact: Daryn P. Glassbrook, Ph.D., Executive Director
(251) 415-1109
[email protected]

Mobile, Alabama – On June 13, 2026, the Mobile Medical Museum and Alabama Contemporary Art Center will host the opening reception for Evidence of Care, an exhibition of new work by 2026 Artist-in-Residence Will Truran, a commercial artist and Assistant Professor of Emerging Media and Graphic Design at the University of Central Florida.

Through video displays, personal testimonies from healthcare workers, and materials from local hospitals and the Museum’s collection, Evidence of Care will explore the past, present, and future of tool design, use and disposal in hospital systems, with a particular focus on environmental impacts.

“After treatment ends and lives are changed, the physical traces of caregiving remain behind,” says Truran. “The materials, the sweat, and often the tears become evidence of the labor, urgency, and humanity found within systems of care.”

The project is a partnership between Mobile Medical Museum and Alabama Contemporary Art Center for Alabama AIR, a statewide partnership residency program. Truran and the project staff worked collaboratively for several weeks to plan, research and develop the work for the exhibition. They also gathered donated materials and staff survey responses from Mobile Infirmary and USA Health.

“The Alabama AIR partnership enriches our storytelling and enables us to approach healthcare topics from perspectives that are unorthodox, exploratory, and emotionally charged,” says Mobile Medical Museum Executive Director Daryn Glassbrook. “Such an approach can lead researchers and practitioners to discover important revelations and historical connections about their field.”

The exhibition will be on display in the Museum’s Mary Elizabeth and Charles Bernard Rodning Gallery from June 13 through September 2026. The opening reception is from 1 to 3 pm and is free for Mobile Medical Museum and Alabama Contemporary Art Center members. Non-members will be charged standard admission fees.

This project has been made possible by grants from Alabama State Council on the Arts and The Daniel Foundation of Alabama. Additional support is provided by Mobile County Commission and Dr. Charles B. Rodning.

For more information, please contact Daryn Glassbrook at (251) 415-1109 or [email protected].

06/05/2026

We loved having you! Can't wait until your next visit.

06/04/2026

The late Dr. Kendall Foster, an OB/GYN in Mobile for many years, was eager to participate in our documentary but he passed away before we could interview him. Fortunately we were able to incorporate some unused film footage from an earlier project. Here he is talking about the Title VI lawsuit of his father and uncle, Drs. Maynard and Le Baron Foster, which ultimately led to the desegregation of staffing at Mobile's hospitals after 1968.

06/02/2026

Right now, there are **zero Black male applicants** for this accelerated **7-year MD/DDS program** through Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College.

That means this opportunity may not be reaching the young men who deserve to see it most.

If you know a Black male high school junior or senior with a strong academic record and a dream of becoming a **doctor or dentist**, please send this to them and their family today.

According to the flyer, the program offers:
✨ Accelerated 7-year MD/DDS track
✨ Potential full-ride scholarship
✨ A direct pathway toward medicine or dentistry

**Qualifications listed:**
• Black male high school juniors/seniors
• 3.5 GPA
• 28 ACT

Please share with parents, educators, pastors, mentors, coaches, fraternities, and community leaders.

**Exposure creates opportunity.**
Let’s make sure our young people know what’s possible.

06/02/2026

This is a set of Roman surgical instruments. Of the set at least three appear to probes; being long thin instruments with a broadened flattened head. One of the items is a small bowl with a spout let into one side and may be for blood letting.