By Kristen Alexander

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February 7, 2025

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As naturopathic doctors, we rely on botanical medicine, also known as herbal or plant medicine, daily. Whether in the form of food, tinctures, salves, topicals, or encapsulations, plants play a vital role in the healing process. The knowledge we possess today regarding plant medicine would not be available to us without the prior knowledge handed down from generations before us. Today, we take a moment to highlight a few African-American pioneers and their contributions to plant medicine. 

 

Harriet Tubman

While we’re most familiar with Harriet Tubman for her work as an abolitionist, she was also a nurse and herbalist. Historical documents show that she helped the conductors of the underground railroad to identify which herbs and plants were safe to ingest, as well as which ones could help sustain them on their journey. She also served as a nurse and utilized botanical medicine to help treat her patients, and likely helped pass along vital information regarding the uses of different herbs and plants for different ailments. 

 

Emma Dupree

Emma Dupree was a community herbalist who spent her entire life serving the people of rural North Carolina. Always available and eager to help anyone who knocked on her door, she was the true embodiment of a community herbalist. She cultivated a prolific garden in her backyard with medicinal herbs and plants and understood their medicinal properties and uses well. She often utilized herbs like sassafras, sage, mint, and catnip, all of which are still commonly used in herbal medicine. 

 

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver is widely known as a scientist and inventor who primarily focused on creating and enhancing farming practices. Such practices include crop rotation, which helps enhance soil quality and allows farmers to become more self-sufficient. While he is most well known for his work with peanuts, he also made great advancements with soybeans and sweet potatoes. His work highlights the importance of crop rotation for optimal soil health and likely paved the way for what we now know as ‘regenerative farming.’

 

Current Herbalists

There are many living herbalists who are working to preserve and share their knowledge of African-American herbalism. Here are a few herbalists to consider learning about:

1. Marc Williams 
2. Lucretia VanDyke 

 

References:

1. https://nursing.virginia.edu/news/flashback-harriet-tubman-nurse/#:~:text=Bradford%20in%20her%201886%20biography,smallpox%2C%20and%20other%20infectious%20diseases. 
2. https://theherbalacademy.com/blog/black-herbalist-spotlight-emma-dupree/?srsltid=AfmBOorDfzmtqflPUsG7KL70WfQmZKksG8YPMrKGEiHVD8Cwgx8uXsYW
3. https://sowtrueseed.com/blogs/gardening/emma-dupree-folk-herbalist-granny-woman?srsltid=AfmBOopm446-94_Y_AQP65JP7HwyhiS8OsVHC-kCYvdSNVaU6Oe3MKSy
4. https://americanherbalistsguild.com/george-washington-carver-american-scientist-indigenous-herbalist-essex-igyan#:~:text=George%20Washington%20Carver%2C%20while%20not,science%20and%20sustainable%20farming%20practices.
5. https://www.bbg.org/article/black_herbalists_harriet_tubman_emma_dupree 
6. https://theherbalacademy.com/blog/african-american-herbalism-history/?srsltid=AfmBOopmJnMq0dvO4HlHC4BASSkanBL29PuGvbEr6AZYeVghqpFkKPu4