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Stories of Care and Control

A Timeline of the Medical Industrial Complex

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Click below to access the main timeline and view key moments in over 500 years of history that have shaped the landscape of health and care in the United States. You can navigate to a particular date on the timeline, filter the data by selected topics, do a keyword search, or view one of our curated stories and timelines. Read more about How to Use This Timeline here.

This is a tool designed to understand the histories of medical experimentation, scientific racism, racial capitalism, and ableism as some of the many forces shaping the conditions and evolution of healthcare in the US, as well as the resistance of grassroots healers, health practitioners, and organizers working both inside and outside of the Medical Industrial Complex.

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Screenshot of the timeline at an example datapoint
An illustrated castle with multiple floors depicts feudal society in medieval Europe, from the church and king to freemen and serfs.

The Story of the Colonizer Wound

The violence of turning life into objects to be traded or sold began generations before Columbus stepped foot on Turtle Island. This story looks at the racial capitalist belief systems and cultural constructs that shape many of the strategies of Western medicine.

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A patient in a fuzzy gown props their arm on a counter. A nurse dressed in all white holds their hand. Another nurse is in the background.

The Story of Tuberculosis

Public “hygiene” campaigns organized by the white-led Anti-Tuberculosis Movement embedded racism and classism into the treatment of this bacterial disease. Black care workers organized integrative care strategies in response that were then co-opted by the state.

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A black and white photo of a crowded chip deck full of people being questioned by men in uniforms with paperwork.

The Story of Marine Health

The roots of the U.S. public health system emerged from a system that supported sea merchants and sailors involved in the transatlantic trade. This story tracks the development of systems of public health surveillance and control designed to protect borders and profit.

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Banner reads in green and orange "Interdependence is survival - Naomi Ortiz. Disability Justice IS Racial Justice IS Environmental Justice"

The Story of Disability Justice

Disability Justice is “a political, cultural practice and series of strategies and tactics that assert and agitate from the lived belief that our disabled, Deaf, sick bodies and minds are enough as we are” (Anti-Eugenics Movement Strategy Huddle).

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Five people wearing masks hold up red signs that read: "Project Nurses, Patients, Public Health"

The Story of COVID-19

A granular look at how chaos, care, and control shape healthcare practices, research, and policy through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic. This story examines ongoing expressions of generations of racism, xenophobia, and ableism alongside numerous stories of resistance.

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Filters

The timeline includes many different topics across centuries of history. The following filter tags can be used to sort the material by your particular areas of interest. Hover over the abbreviated filter to reveal the full title, or click the filter to view all timeline points with that tag. For a more complete search, please use the search function.

ABOR
AIDS
ANTM
ANTS
API
BEAU
BH
BIOW
CAN
CCMS
CHIL
COL
COP
CORP
DCRJ
DDD
DRUG
ECON
ENV
EPD
EUG
EUR
EXP
FAT
GEN
GEND
GENO
GLSO
HAW
HISR
HISS
HJCC
HOME
HOSP
HPI
HR
ICM
IM
INDG
INTL
INTS
IS
ISAM
JCL
LAB
LAT
LEG
LLP
MED
MHP
MHT
MIL
MJ
NPIC
NRS
OA
OC
PH
PHA
PIC
POV
PR
QT
RAC
REL
RES
RHRR
RJ
RSCH
RUR
SANI
SLA
SOCW
SRA
STER
SUG
SURV
SV
SW
TFCM
TOB
VAC
WAR
WHI
XEN
Healing Histories Project

Healing Histories Project deepens and expands relationships between and among abolitionist healers/health practitioners, community organizers, researchers/historians & cultural workers building solidarity to interrupt the Medical Industrial Complex and harmful systems of care. We generate change through research, action, and building collaborative strategies & stories with BIPOC-led communities, institutions, and movements organizing for dignified collective care.

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Screenshot of Healing Histories Project website
Curriculum & Tools

Over time, we will be releasing new curated stories, curriculum, and tools related to the Medical Industrial Complex timeline and other Healing Histories Project work. We will also be sharing resources from partners that expand on the work of transforming the Medical Industrial Complex and interrupting the conditions that fuel it. You can think of this “curriculum” as a study guide. It’s a suggestion for how you might use the Healing Histories Project timelines as tools. This means it’s largely a series of questions designed to support your interaction with the material on these pages.

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Screenshot of the Healing Histories website Curriculum page