Honor or cultural appropriation? Hospital name spurs debate
By JIM SALTER
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — While segregation was still casting its ugly shadow over the U.S., the Homer G. Phillips Hospital was providing top-notch medical care to a predominantly African American part of St. Louis and training some of the world’s best Black doctors and nurses. The name is still revered, especially in the city’s Black community. So a white developer’s decision to call a new three-bed medical facility “Homer G. Phillips Memorial Hospital” has been met by a backlash that includes a lawsuit, protests and newspaper editorials alleging cultural appropriation. But Darryl Piggee, a Black man who serves on the board of directors for the new hospital, says the name seeks to honor Phillips’ legacy, not profit from it.
