Nearly 50 years after he first joined the medical staff, Mount Sinai Medical Center paid tribute to James Kenneth Johnson, Sr., M.D., a black health care pioneer and one of the first African American physicians to practice medicine at the Miami Beach hospital. Dr. Johnson specialized in family medicine and served with distinction on the hospitals medical staff from 1957 until 1985.
“From the very start of his career, he courageously broke down barriers of segregation that had stood for generations,” Steven D. Sonenreich, president and chief executive officer of Mount Sinai Medical Center, told the crowd of nearly 100 who turned out for a luncheon in Dr. Johnsons honor. “He paved the way for physicians like me,” said George A. Simpson, M.D., the first African American general surgeon to join the staff at Mount Sinai.
Back row (left to right): Jubril and Chineme Wilson; their daughter, Adora Wilson; Judge Leo Adderly
Front row (left to right): Jewyll Wilson; the guest of honor, J. K. Johnson, Sr., M.D.; his wife, Helen Johnson; J. K. Johnson, Jr., D.D.S.; Judge John Johnson; Dorothy Jenkins Fields, Ph.D.; Wilda Adderly; and Steven D. Sonenreich, president & CEO of Mount Sinai Medical Center.
“Mount Sinai was founded on the desire to create an outstanding hospital which would serve all persons regardless of race, color or creed,” Sonenreich said. “This progressive vision led the institution to a number of remarkable firsts.” Mount Sinai was the first area hospital, other than the county facility, to admit black patients. At a time when segregation was the rule, the hospital was also first in the county with a fully integrated staff.
The medical center could not have achieved these milestones were it not for the African American physicians who joined the hospital in the 1950s. Dr. Johnson came to Mount Sinai after earning medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville. The fact that he was able to complete medical school was, in itself, an impressive accomplishment. At the time, black students aspiring to professions in medicine and related fields were prevented from studying in most university post-graduate programs.
In honor of his courage, leadership and service to the community, Dr. Johnson was presented with a bronze plaque recognizing his 28 years at Mount Sinai and his 43 years in medical practice. “The plaque will be proudly displayed at the physician entrance to the hospital, so that each physician who enters our doors will be reminded of Dr. Johnsons great legacy in medicine and at this hospital,” Sonenreich said.