Joycelyn Elders

Dr. Joycelyn Elders, the first African American, and the second woman, to hold the position of Surgeon General of the United States, is Renee’s guest on the next Connections. The program airs Saturday, April 12 at 3/2 p.m. CT on KET1 and Sunday, April 13 at 11:30/10:30 a.m. CT on KET2.

Born Minnie Lee Elders, she renamed herself Joycelyn after one of her favorite brands of candy. Elders discusses her childhood in Arkansas and her extended family, which includes 30 aunts and uncles and 7 siblings. She explains that her family, friends and neighbors all helped her scrape together money and supplies for her time as a student at Philander Smith College in Little Rock. She graduated from Philander Smith with a Bachelor’s degree in biology at the age of 18 and went on to medical school at the University of Arkansas.

Elders also talks about what inspired her to go into medicine, her time as Surgeon General under President Clinton and some of her controversial stances on health care and other political issues, including sex education for adolescents and legalization of marijuana.

Connections with Renee Shaw is a KET production, produced by Renee Shaw and Carolyn Gwinn. More information about Connections, including streaming video, is available at www.ket.org/connections.