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Narrative: Sharing in an Aunt's Historic Medical Career

Left: Juliette Satterwhite, Right: Maude Callen
Courtesy of Juliette Satterwhite

When Juliette Satterwhite was a young girl, she spent many Sunday afternoons in rural Berkeley County at her aunt Maude Callen's house in Pineville, South Carolina. These family gatherings introduced Satterwhite to the medical work Callen provided to people in the area. In December of 1951, Life magazine published a 12-page photo essay of Callen and work she did. She is credited with delivering some 800 babies. Callen's story is also featured in the new National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC. In this edition of Narrative, Satterwhite reflects on how she was allowed to assist her aunt, during a delivery.