Doctor born in segregated Parkland hospital elected system's first African American medical staff president

There was never any question in his mind that James Griffin would become a doctor.

Still, Parkland Health's chief of Anesthesiology recently being elected by his peers as the first African American President of the Medical Staff is a full circle moment.

“My role started from a very different point from most individuals,” said Griffin.

It’s a position some would have only dared to imagine when Griffin was born at Parkland back in 1958.

"To be born at Parkland in a time when my mother could not receive health care in any other hospital was important. At that time, Parkland's maternity ward was segregated so the African American babies were born in one part of the hospital and everyone else was born somewhere else,” he said.

It wasn't until 1964, with the passage of the Civil Rights Act, that patients at Parkland were no longer required to stand in separate lines based on skin color.

Griffin grew up attending segregated schools, but he said his parents, who were both school teachers, never allowed him to believe those circumstances would limit his potential.

“We never talked about what we couldn't do. It was always based in faith on what was possible if we put our minds to it,” said Griffin.

Years later, that mindset continues to guide Griffin.

Throughout his 40-plus year career, Griffin’s held multiple leadership roles at both Parkland and U.T. Southwestern, where he currently serves as the Associate Chair of the Admissions Committee.

Together, the two institutions strive to provide world-class care to Dallas County residents regardless of the situation.

It’s a mission Griffin said he’s proud to be a part of and one that represents progress.

“Our story is not written, so we make of our unique opportunities and backgrounds and strive to become more than what society might say that we’re capable of doing. And I think that’s our quest to place that in the minds of each and every patient and new child that’s born here and in every member of the medical staff,” he said.