Denied hospital posts, he opened his own practice and founded a movement.
Dr Harold Moody was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 8 October 1882 and came to London in 1904 to study medicine at King’s College, where he excelled at his studies.
The qualifications did not spare him: denied hospital appointments because of his race, he opened his own practice in Peckham in 1913, treating local families and offering free care to children who needed it. He served as an emergency doctor through the Blitz, keeping medicine going under fire.
In 1931 he founded the League of Coloured Peoples, an organisation that campaigned for the rights and dignity of Black people in Britain and published The Keys, a periodical that documented discrimination and recorded Black achievement. He built an institution where there had been none, joining the work of the surgery to the work of the movement.
He died on 24 April 1944, his practice and his League both still standing.
His record is in the League of Coloured Peoples records, King’s College London. His card is in the deck.
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Timeline
- 1882Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on 8 October.
- 1904Arrived in England to study medicine at King’s College London.
- 1913Opened his own medical practice in Peckham.
- 1931Founded the League of Coloured Peoples, which published The Keys.
- 1940Served as an emergency doctor during the Blitz.
- 1944Died on 24 April, aged 61.
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I salute Dr Harold Moody, who opened his own practice and founded a movement for rights.
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