Author’s Note: Special thanks to artist and bluesman, Mr. Bobby Whalen, and to my uncle, Mr. Willie James Magruder, for generously sharing their memories of Dr. Mabel Fugitt’s life and work on Church Street. Dedication: This narrative is in memory of Dr. Mabel Fugitt. Born around 1890 in Mississippi, twenty-seven years after the end of the Civil War, Dr. Mabel Fugitt was a pioneering Black woman physician. By the time women gained the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920, Dr. Fugitt had already earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee, six years earlier, in 1914. Her accomplishments were groundbreaking, particularly for a Black woman at that time. Dr. Fugitt had naturally curly hair, as white as cotton, and a fair complexion—light enough that she could have easily passed for White and assimilated into the White community. However, rather than using the privileges her complexion might have afforded her, Dr. Fugitt chose to stay within and serve the Black community, providing essential healthcare. She was a faculty member at the University of West Tennessee College of Medicine and Surgery, an institution dedicated to training Black medical professionals. After working in Tennessee for a few years, Dr. Fugitt returned to Mississippi and opened a medical practice in Clarksdale. In 1933, she established her practice in Indianola to address the critical shortage of Black physicians and the pressing need for better healthcare services. Mr. Bobby Whalen recalled that Dr. Fugitt’s home and office were located across the street from Mr. and Mrs. Guy McComb’s house, just a short walk south of Mount Beulah M.B. Church on Church Street. Her house had a screened-in front porch, and one of its bedrooms was converted into her medical office. Most Black residents relied on her care, and she often made house calls. At a time when people had little money, she was known for kindness. She provided vaccinations to Black children and medical care to Black patients, even when they could only afford to pay $1 or $2. If patients had no money at all, they might offer a dozen eggs or a bunch of greens in exchange for her services, and Dr. Fugitt accepted whatever they could give. In later years, vaccinations for Black children were administered by the Health Department at schools. My uncle, Willie James Magruder, recalled an incident from his youth that led him to seek medical attention from Dr. Fugitt. He was near the Honey Theater, where Abraham’s Department store stands today, with a Black male friend and two Black girls when two White boys from the country approached, acting as if they would hit him. Words were exchanged, and my uncle, wanting to impress the girls, started fighting near the Indian Bayou and ended up with a swollen and sprained hand. He went to Dr. Fugitt’s home, where she treated him by applying liniment and wrapping his hand, charging him $2 or $3 for the treatment. He remembered her as a quiet person, rarely seen out in public. Dr. Fugitt continued her vital work in Indianola until her death on October 25, 1961. She was a faithful and devout Catholic and a parishioner of St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church in Indianola. According to the Delta Democrat-Times, on October 25, 1970, she was memorialized in a Mass at St. Benedict the Moor, where Father Meinrad “Walter” Smigiel, the pastor, remarked, “She spent her whole professional life serving the poor Black people of Indianola and Sunflower County.” Today, healthcare remains a major concern in Mississippi, particularly in the Delta region, where access to physicians and specialists is a challenge. Dr. Fugitt’s work highlights the ongoing need for dedicated medical professionals in underserved communities. Her legacy underscores the importance of addressing healthcare disparities, not only in Indianola but across the state.
