DOROTHEA DIX (4/14/1802 to 7/17/1887)
A WOMAN ON A MISSION: Teacher, mental health advocate and champion of the disenfranchised
Let me tell you about Dorothea Dix, that way you can tell me why this amazing crusader for fair and equitable treatment of the mentally ill and founder of 30 public psychiatric hospitals, doesn’t have a statue of her own.
Yes, she’s founded a few hospitals named after her. Dix Hospital, in my own state of North Carolina, was opened in 1856. North Carolina has also built a park in her honor which has the most splendid art installations in the form of five trolls made of recycled material – fashioned by Danish sculptor Thomas Dambo—scattered throughout the lush surroundings. Elsewhere, a fountain has been constructed as a tribute to her efforts; a small portrait hangs in the Portrait Gallery; a bronze medallion (pictured) has been issued and there’s a historical marker. In addition, she was inducted into The National Hall of fame in 1979. But no statue.
Exhausting work. Thousands of men, with much less impressive accomplishments have been memorialized with a statue of marble, granite, bronze, silver, glass, or natural fibers. I ask you, what must a woman do in order to have a statue carved in her likeness?
Let’s start again. From the beginner. Perhaps I didn’t explain myself well enough. Dorothea was born to a father with a bad temper. As a result she was sent to her grandmother to be raised in a better environment. She benefited from this change in guardianship and graduated from college with a teaching degree. One Sunday morning in 1843, she volunteered to teach a class at the local jail. That’s where her advocacy began. As soon as she stepped inside the prison, the conditions of the prisoners shocked, appalled and horrified her, many of whom were not criminals but mentally ill people who had nowhere else to go. Most were denied medical care and everyone she met suffered from malnutrition. Some were naked and locked in cages. The rooms were covered in feces.
I’m not sure what you would do when faced with the same situation. But she hopped on the first train and headed straight to the nearest legislative office. Remember this is 1843. Sure took a lot of guts.
Here is an excerpt of her speech: “I come to the legislature to advocate for the miserable, the desolate, the helpless and the forgotten men and women deemed insane. Everyone should be horrified by the conditions and treatment of the mentally ill. I imply you to do better.” They listened and for a while, the country did a better job. Dorothea was successful in her endeavors to change public perception of mental illness but unfortunately it didn’t stick.
We all remember the horrific conditions uncovered by Geraldo Rivera during the 1970s when he visited Willlowbrook. Please don’t blame Dorothea for something that happened 100 years after she died. And we’re well aware that soldiers are sent back into harm’s way with untreated Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Then there are the drug-addicted, many of whom suffer concomitant mental illness. She left us in good shape and we messed up.
Time to continue the conversation. One way to start the discussion is to erect a statue of Dorothea Dix so we can remember her call to duty. See something. Say something. Do something. We all need to follow her spirit and pledge to be better human beings when it comes to the infirmed, especially those who lack the capacity for coherent thought.
Rock on Dorothea! May you be chiseled in stone for all eternity.