The Notorious Dr. Flippin

In 1910 a central Nebraska newspaper, the Aurora Sun, printed an editorial condemning a physician it dubbed “the notorious Dr. Flippin.” Dr. Charles Flippin’s reputation came under siege throughout the state as another newspaper editor alleged that the African American physician had committed “that most despicable of all crimes”—illegal abortion.For thirty years rural Kansans and Nebraskans had hailed Flippin as a godsend because of his skill as a physician and his willingness to help anyone regardless of race or social class. Despite performing abortions even for young white women, Flippin managed to avoid conviction in several trials until finally pleading guilty in 1924. Tallman details the doctor’s extraordinary life and analyzes the forces behind the prosecution of the aging physician. The first book to focus exclusively on attitudes towards abortion in early twentieth-century rural communities, The Notorious Dr. Flippin supplies long overlooked context for current debate and enriches studies of African American, western, women’s, and medical history.

Jamie Q. Tallman, who specializes in local and regional history, came upon the story of Dr. Charles Flippin while researching Flippin’s son, George, Nebraska’s first African American star football player. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska.In addition to her extensive teaching and academic publications, Harriet A. Washington has written more than two hundred articles on medicine and science for popular periodicals. She lives in Albany, New York.