University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Segregated Restrooms and Cafeteria

The historically segregated restrooms and cafeteria are located on the first floor of University of Mississippi Hospital. The formerly segregated cafeteria and restrooms, which were desegregated in 1965, are still in place and used today as the hospital's cafeteria and nearby restrooms. Today the cafeteria has one entrance for all patrons, but before 1965 there were two entrances to the cafeteria: the main entrance where the white people would enter and the side entrance where colored people would enter and be served separately. A wall separated the dining space racially with whites sitting on one side, Blacks on the other. The restrooms are an important example of formerly segregated area and serve as a testament to the state's segregationist history, a reminder of how far we have come and still need to go. Another significant sentiment regarding the history of UMMC is that the hospital itself was segregated. The effect of segregation and the historical backdrop of health and medication in Mississippi are relevant to binding of the racial separation in American medical history. With regards to UMMC, all wards in the hospital were racially isolated until the integration of public areas through the execution of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Here are directions from the central elevators: exiting the central elevators, look slightly left, take the first hall to the right, then the first hall on the right to restrooms labeled above the doors as H126-129. (The original School of Medicine also had segregated restrooms, examples of which remain but are not accessible to the general public.)

Racial segregation was a central fact of life during the 1950s and 1960s, especially in the south where it was mandated by Jim Crow laws. Schools, jobs, restaurants, parks, and hospitals were all separated such that Black and brown people had different areas for learning, working, eating, exercising, and receiving medical care than those available to their white counterparts. This issue caused many Black people to be jailed, lose jobs, suffer violence, and endure harassment. 

Like other hospitals in the south, UMMC was segregated. In the original hospital facility (known today as the “Original Hospital”), the restrooms and cafeteria were segregated. The segregated restrooms were located on 1st floor of the hospital, and they are still there today. You can still see the key differences that distinguished the whites-only restrooms from Black-only restrooms in the hospital, namely the larger size and marble flooring in the whites-only restroom. Here are directions from the central elevators: exiting the central elevators, look slightly left, take the first hall to the right, then the first hall on the right to restrooms labeled above the doors as H126-129. (The original School of Medicine also had segregated restrooms, examples of which remain but are not accessible to the general public.) Not all of the original segregated restrooms are still in use as restrooms, but all four are there. 

In 1965, following the Civil Rights Act that outlawed segregation, the administration removed the signs on the restrooms for African Americans because segregated restrooms would 

disqualify UMMC from receiving federal aid. The federal government supported racial inclusivity and mandated that everyone to be seen and treated as equals in places where funding was distributed. Today, opinions are divided about the four restrooms’ future. Some people want to keep them as a testament to history, how far the hospital has come and how far it still needs to go. Others want to tear them down as a sign that the institution has moved beyond segregation. 

Like the restrooms, the cafeteria was segregated at one point as well. There were two entrances to the cafeteria: the main entrance where white people would enter and the side entrance where Black people would enter. Beyond the entrances, the cafeteria line and seating area for Black people was separated by a wall from the cafeteria line and seating area for white people. It was unfair treatment, but segregation was a social issue which non-whites had to endure during that time, and it was consistent with the segregated restaurants and water fountains throughout the south (in 1963, Tougaloo College students and faculty staged a sit-in at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Jackson. See https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jackson-woolworth-sit-in/). 

Like the restrooms, the cafeteria desegregated because of money. According to Dr. Richard deShazo (The Racial Divide in American Medicine, 2018), hospital administrators and staff were relying on federal funding in 1965. However, without desegregating the hospital, they would not receive the funds, which forced the administration knock down the wall dividing the cafeteria. Demolishing the wall, according to deShazo, was meant to show federal inspectors that segregation had ended, and that people of all races would “mingle” in the cafeteria, but Marston left them in place. This did not fully solve the issue because white Americans still segregated themselves from African Americans. This change did give the Black members of the physician group space to talk,  and in that space, cafeteria workers would  “spill the beans” about the plans of the hospital. Them spilling the beans kept the NAACP one step ahead of everyone else and they had all what they needed to support the integration of the hospital.

The cafeteria and restrooms were not the only segregated spaces at UMMC. In fact, all wards in the hospital were racially divided until implementation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the context of health and equity in Mississippi, segregation created a legacy of inaccessibility among many African Americans and the poor. Today, UMMC has increased the number of African American and non-white medical patients, staff, and students, and as the consciousness of race and medicine increases, it is hoped that Mississippi will continue to improve on its dark history of medical inequality.

Lyon, Carter Dalton. Jackson Civil Rights Movement, Mississippi Encyclopedia. November 20th 2017. Accessed April 5th 2021. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/jackson-civil-rights-movement/.

May 28, 1963: Woolworth Sit-in in Jackson, Mississippi, Accessed April 15th 2021. https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/jackson-woolworth-sit-in/.

Jackson Jr., David H.. Segregation , Mississippi Encyclopedia. November 20th 2017. Accessed April 5th 2021. http://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/segregation/.