Relentless Audacity: The Forest Avenue Hospital Journal

My Day
By Dr. J. Ester Davis

Out and about one day with one of my grandsons, we ran into Pastor Zan Holmes.   After we parted, I was questioned about who he was.  Trying to keep it simple, I replied that he remembers me in the law office “up the street” when he was a state representative. The ‘up the street’ answer was the puzzling part.

In the late 60’s, in middle class South Dallas, everything and everybody with purpose and platform was ‘down the street’ or ‘up the street one block over’. The economic engine of Southern Dallas during these history making years was the Forest Avenue Hospital located on Forest Avenue (nee MLK Blvd.) @Atlanta Street.

Reserved parking, well dressed citizens and places galore. All of these addresses, with tree lined streets and their memories came flooding back to me in early November of this year, when the death of Mrs. French L. Cowans reached Dallas. A most amazing prodigy, Mrs. Cowans was the First African American Woman in the State of Texas to Practice Pharmacy.  I knew her.  She was stunning, glamourous, and brilliant with a Vogue Magazine image every day.  French L’s calling card was intentional acts of community and continual deeds of selflessness.  “A woman of elegance” adequately stated Mayor Rev. Dr. Ron Jones.

Mrs. Cowans, born in 1928, grew up in old North Central Dallas was raised in a convent. Her obituary befitting this journal, conveyed “as a little girl she would walk to church on Sundays by herself to St. John’s Baptist Church. On her way she caught the attention of Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Mary Convent from St. Peter, the  Catholic Church  “across the street” from St. John’s. The Sisters asked if she could attend St. Peters Academy and live in the convent with the other girls (tuition free)”.  Mrs. Cowans excelled in her studies and graduated from high school at age 16 with honors and completed the demanding five(5)year pharmacy program in 3.5 years with honors from Xavier University in New Orleans.  As we journey through the Forest Avenue Hospital odyssey, we will revisit Mrs. Cowans formal years because they are exemplary and a true model of ‘relentlessness’ and its audacity. Her timeline to Forest Avenue Hospital mirrors the stories and the resistance to President Truman’s 1948 order to integrate military units.

I have labelled this era the “relentless generation”.  There were original black owned hospitals in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Denver.  The history, somewhat checkered, was first of all born out of absolute need.  There are notes on the relentless pursuits of Thurgood Marshall, Washington, DC Attorney , W. J. Durham, North Dallas Attorney,”across town”  intervening in all aspects of the American Negro Progress.  The seed was planted for the Dallas destination hospital as early as 1959.  The lead mastermind for Dallas’ Forest Avenue Hospital was Dr. Ed Mason.   Dr. Robert Prince in an earlier interview reminded us that the Korean War was the first when African American soldiers were in fully integrated units.  This ray of hope with the aid of the GI Bill propelled more black veterans to medicine, aviation, and higher education, but however highly educated with honors, they could not practice medicine in white hospitals. Dr. Ed Mason solicited the talented resume of Dr. Paige.  With Dr. Eugene Dorsey’s arrival on the scene as a founding partner/chief surgeon, the detail formula for a hospital inspection was complete. The first hospital administrator was Norris Hill, a native Dallasite who was deemed excellent for the job.  He was hired by Ed Mason. Dr. Mason maintained offices “down the hall” at Forest Avenue Hospital throughout its tenure.  The three founding partners were totally difference.

With intense planning, a need to succeed, and a waiting congregation, the young doctors ran into a financial squeeze more than once. However, to complement their efforts there was an awaiting “relentless” generation of towering labor leaders, (just cannot leave out A. Philip Randolph), a powerful network of masons, bold clergy and a mild mannered investment educator, Judge Asberry, who taught school ‘down the street’.

And so, in 1964, the Forest Avenue Hospital was opened by a black entrepreneur and three black doctors.  Mrs. French L. Cowans was asked to become the Director of Pharmacy. Here it was . . . a black hospital, a black pharmacy, serving black people.

Coming Up:  January 2020, Forest Avenue Journal Continues

IMPORTANT:  Please share any written information you might have.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas cause Jesus is the reason for the season

Esterdavis2000@gmail.com

214.376.9000