The Bone Doctor's Concerto

Music, Surgery, and the Pieces in Between
Dr. Alvin Crawford’s autobiography traces his journey from segregated Memphis to becoming a pioneering surgeon in Cincinnati, facing racism and breaking barriers along the way.

Published by the University of Cincinnati Press

Born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1939, Dr. Alvin Crawford grew up and attended medical school in a segregated world. Beginning with his early life in Orange Mound-a self-contained community for freed slaves established in the 1890s-Crawford’s autobiography describes his flirtation with a music degree and time spent playing in jazz bands through the segregated South. In 1960, Crawford began his ground-breaking medical career with his entrance into the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, becoming the school’s first African American student. After completing his medical training and traveling the world as a surgeon for the Navy, Crawford found himself in Cincinnati, where he established the Comprehensive Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the first in the region.

Underlying this story are the systemic and very personal incidents of racism Crawford experienced throughout his career. His autobiography is a personal account of segregation, integration, ambition, hard work, and taking risks.

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