“I am open to suggestions,” said Smith-Thompson, whose grandfather led the Black fraternal organization, now called the Knights and Daughters of Tabor, that founded Taborian Hospital in 1942. At a time when Jim Crow laws barred Black patients from accessing white healthcare facilities, Taborian Hospital, staffed entirely by Black doctors and nurses, was a sanctuary for Black patients.
Taborian Hospital was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and is where Smith-Thompson was born and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer passed away.
“This is a very painful conversation,” said Smith-Thompson. “It’s a part of my being.”
