Alan Berkman
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Alan Berkman (September 4, 1945 – June 5, 2009) was an American
physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and activist in the
Students for a Democratic Society Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships a ...
and
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left Marxist militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, or simply Weatherman, the group was organized as a f ...
who went to prison for his involvement in a number of robberies staged by the organizations and their offshoots. Released after eight years in prison for armed robbery and explosives possession, Berkman provided medical care to the homeless and founded Health GAP to help provide AIDS pharmaceuticals to some of the world's poorest nations.


Early life and education

Berkman was born in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
and moved with his family to
Middletown, Orange County, New York Middletown is the largest city in Orange County, New York, United States. It lies in New York's Hudson Valley region, near the Wallkill River and the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Middletown is situated between Port Jervis and Newb ...
. His family was Jewish. He was an
Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...
who graduated as the
salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...
of his high school class. He earned his undergraduate degree at
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, graduating as an honor student in 1967. Berkman completed his medical training at the
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons The Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (officially known as Columbia University Roy and Diana Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the medical school of Columbia University, located at the Columbia University Irvin ...
in 1971. His politics and practice of medicine often overlapped, including his treatment of prisoners after the September 1971 Attica riots. He and his wife evaded the cordon established by the
United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...
to provide medical care during the Wounded Knee incident in 1973.


Brinks robbery and life on the run

The
Black Liberation Army The Black Liberation Army (BLA) was an underground Marxist–Leninist, black-nationalist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981. Composed of former Black Panthers (BPP) and Republic of New Afrika (RNA) mem ...
and May 19th Communist Movement had organized the October 20, 1981, Brinks robbery in
Nanuet, New York Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west of West Nyack. ...
, in which $1.6 million was taken from a
Brink's The Brink's Company is an American Automated cash handling, cash handling company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. Its operations include cash-in-transit, ATM replenishment & maintenance, and cash management & payment services, such as va ...
armored car. An armored car guard was killed during the robbery. In a shootout shortly after the heist, two police officers were killed. A witness told a
grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
that Berkman had treated one of the holdup group's members for a gunshot wound. Berkman refused to talk and spent almost a year in jail for
civil contempt Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...
. Indicted as an
accessory after the fact An accessory is a person who assists, but does not actually participate, in the commission of a crime. The distinction between an accessory and a principal is a question of fact and degree: *The principal is the one whose acts or omissions, acc ...
, Berkman jumped bail and went underground. Berkman's lawyers claimed that he was the only U.S. doctor to be charged for treating a fugitive since Dr.
Samuel Mudd Samuel Alexander Mudd Sr. (December 20, 1833 – January 10, 1883) was an American physician who was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Mudd worked as a doctor and tobacco far ...
was charged and later convicted for his medical treatment of
John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
in 1865 after the
Abraham Lincoln assassination On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play ''Our American Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. Shot in the head as he watched the play, Linc ...
. On the run, Berkman took part in the gunpoint robbery of a
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
supermarket that netted more than $20,000. Berkman and Elizabeth Ann Duke were arrested on May 23, 1985, near
Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. Doylestown is located northwest of Trent ...
. Their car was found to have a pistol and shotgun, as well as the key to a storage site that held 100 pounds of dynamite. During his years on the run in the 1980s, court papers alleged, he was involved with groups that had staged seven bombings of military and other government facilities, though charges related to the bombings were later dismissed. He was charged as part of the Resistance Conspiracy and convicted for his participation in the supermarket robbery, the proceeds of which, prosecutors alleged, had been used to buy the dynamite.


Prison

Berkman served eight years of a 10-year sentence, primarily in
solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...
. Diagnosed with Hodgkin's in 1985, Berkman experienced delays in treatment and almost died twice due to the subpar prison healthcare system. Berkman appeared on
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
to discuss his experiences. In his 1991 testimony before the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, Berkman stated: "Security concerns are the context in which prison medicine is practiced, but it is disastrous if they become the overwhelming content." He later stated in an interview: "When you're in prison, your care is under the general supervision of people who don't much care if you live or die and that's a very hard reality."


HIV/AIDS advocacy and research

After his release on parole in 1992, Berkman worked as a doctor at a
South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...
clinic for parolees who use drugs. In 1995, Berkman returned to
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
as a postdoctoral research fellow and treated homeless men living with
HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...
and mental illness. That year he published a paper criticizing the prison health care system. In the late 1990s, Berkman did HIV/AIDS research in South Africa. Upon his return to New York, Berkman co-founded Health Global Access Project (Health GAP), in collaboration with
ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
and other activists. Health GAP is an organization dedicated to expanding affordable access to
antiretroviral drugs The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of mult ...
in the poorest parts of the world. Through such efforts as lobbying to allow foreign governments to impose
compulsory license A compulsory license provides that the owner of a patent or copyright licenses the use of their rights against payment either set by law or determined through some form of adjudication or arbitration. In essence, under a compulsory license, an i ...
s to allow local manufacture of medications without the imposition of U.S. trade tariffs, costs for a regimen of AIDS medications that had cost $15,000 annually in the late 1990s had been cut to $150 per year by the time of his death. In 2001, Berkman published a paper advocating that the global efforts to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic should include both treatment and prevention. In 2003, Berkman became an assistant professor of
clinical epidemiology Clinical epidemiology is a subfield of epidemiology specifically focused on issues relevant to clinical medicine. The term was first introduced by virologist John R. Paul in his presidential address to the American Society for Clinical Investigat ...
and sociomedical sciences at the
Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (formally the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health) is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in the ...
, later becoming vice chair of the Department of Epidemiology.


Death

Over the last 20 years of his life, he faced recurring cancer. A resident of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, Berkman died there, aged 63, from
lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...
on June 5, 2009. He was survived by his wife, Dr. Barbara Zeller, as well as two daughters and a grandson. His papers are archived at
Columbia University Irving Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...
. In 2020, Berkman's friend, Susan M. Reverby, published ''Co-Conspirator for Justice: The Revolutionary Life of Dr. Alan Berkman''.


Selected works

Berkman A
Prison health: the breaking point
Am J Public Health. 1995 Dec;85(12):1616-8. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.12.1616. PMID: 7503333; PMCID: PMC1615745. Berkman A
Confronting global AIDS: prevention and treatment.
Am J Public Health. 2001 Sep;91(9):1348-9. doi: 10.2105/ajph.91.9.1348. PMID: 11527751; PMCID: PMC1446774. Berkman A, Garcia J, Muñoz-Laboy M, Paiva V, Parker R
A critical analysis of the Brazilian response to HIV/AIDS: lessons learned for controlling and mitigating the epidemic in developing countries
Am J Public Health. 2005 Jul;95(7):1162-72. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.054593. Epub 2005 Jun 2. PMID: 15933232; PMCID: PMC1449335.


References


External links



{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkman, Alan 1945 births 2009 deaths Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni Cornell University alumni Deaths from lymphoma in New York (state) Fugitives wanted by the United States Jewish American activists Members of the Weather Underground Physicians from Brooklyn Activists from Brooklyn Activists from Manhattan Physicians from Manhattan People from Middletown, Orange County, New York