Joycelyn Elders

Joycelyn Elders
15th Surgeon General of the United States
In office September 8, 1993 – December 31, 1994
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Robert A. Whitney
Succeeded by	Audrey F. Manley
Personal details
Born	(1933-08-13) August 13, 1933 Schaal, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Military service
Branch/service	Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, United States Army
Years of service	USA: 1953–1956
Rank	USPHS: Vice Admiral

Minnie Joycelyn Elders (born Minnie Lee Jones on August 13, 1933) is an American pediatrician and public health administrator. She was a vice admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and the first African American appointed as Surgeon General of the United States. Elders is best known for her frank discussion of her views on controversial issues such as drug legalization and distributing contraception in schools.

Early life and education

Elders was born Minnie Lee Jones in Schaal, Arkansas. In college, she changed her name to Minnie Joycelyn Lee. In 1952, she received her B.S. degree in Biology from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. After working as a nurse's aide in a Veterans Administration hospital in Milwaukee for a period, she joined the United States Army in May 1953. During her 3 years in the Army, she was trained as a physical therapist. She then attended the University of Arkansas Medical School, where she obtained her M.D. degree in 1960. After completing an internship at the University of Minnesota Hospital and a residency in pediatrics at the University of Arkansas Medical Center, Elders earned an M.S. degree in Biochemistry in 1967.

Career

Elders has received a National Institutes of Health career development award, also serving as assistant professor in pediatrics at the University of Arkansas Medical Center from 1967. She was promoted to associate professor in 1971 and professor in 1976. Her research interests focused on endocrinology, and she received certification as a pediatric endocrinologist in 1978. She became an expert on childhood sexual development. Elders received a D.Sc. degree from Bates College in 2002.

In 1987, then-Governor Bill Clinton appointed Elders as Director of the Arkansas Department of Health. Her accomplishments in this position included a tenfold increase in the number of early childhood screenings annually and almost a doubling of the immunization rate for two-year-olds in Arkansas. In 1992, she was elected President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers.

In January 1993 Bill Clinton appointed her the United States Surgeon General, making her the first African American and the second woman following Antonia Novello, to hold the position. She was a controversial choice and a strong backer of the Clinton health care plan, so she was not confirmed until September 7, 1993. As surgeon general, Elders quickly established a reputation for controversy. Like many of the surgeons general before her, she was an outspoken advocate of a variety of health-related causes. She argued for an exploration of the possibility of drug legalization and backed the distribution of contraceptives in schools. President Clinton stood by Elders, saying that she was misunderstood.

In 1994, she was invited to speak at a United Nations conference on AIDS. She was asked whether it would be appropriate to promote masturbation as a means of preventing young people from engaging in riskier forms of sexual activity, and she replied, "I think that it is part of human sexuality, and perhaps it should be taught." This remark caused great controversy and resulted in Elders losing the support of the White House. White House chief of staff Leon Panetta remarked, "There have been too many areas where the President does not agree with her views. This is just one too many." Elders was fired by President Clinton as a result of the controversy in December 1994. Whether Clinton's decision to fire her was because of his own personal sense of morality versus mere political expediency must be measured by facts of his own conduct that were revealed during his 1998 impeachment.

Later years

Since leaving her post as surgeon general, she has returned to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as professor of pediatrics. She is a regular on the lecture circuit, speaking on issues related to AIDS and teen pregnancy.

Elders wrote a book in an attempt to present her side of the controversies that surrounded her during her 18-month tenure as surgeon general.

Already reviled by conservatives for advocating abortion rights and condom distribution in schools, Elders drew fire — and censure from the Clinton administration — when she suggested that legalizing drugs might help reduce crime and that the idea should be studied. On December 15, 1993, around one week after making these comments, charges were filed against her son Kevin, for selling cocaine in an incident involving undercover officers, four months prior. Elders believes the incident was a frame-up and the timing of the charges was designed to embarrass her and the president. Kevin Elders was convicted, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He appealed his conviction to the Arkansas Supreme Court, and that court reaffirmed the conviction. The court held that Mr. Elders failed to show that he was entrapped into making the narcotics sale. There was no further appeal.

In an October 15, 2010 article she clearly voiced support for legalization of marijuana:

"I think we consume far more dangerous drugs that are legal: cigarette smoking, nicotine and alcohol," said Joycelyn Elders, the former surgeon general and a supporter of the measure. "I feel they cause much more devastating effects physically. We need to lift the prohibition on marijuana."

In popular culture

In the 1990s science fiction TV series Sliders, Elders was depicted as President of an alternative United States of America where the world's population was kept to around 500 million.

Elders's State role is the basis for Surgeon General Millicent Griffith in the The West Wing episode "Ellie", in which she discusses legalization of drugs. The episode also refers to her previous controversial statements.

External links

• Office of Public Health and Science (4 January 2007). "M. Joycelyn Elders (1993–1994)". U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
• Joycelyn Elders's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project