Ana Livia Cordero (July 4, 1931 – February 21, 1992) was a Puerto Rican doctor and political activist.

Early life

Born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Cordero lived on the island and in New York City. Both of her parents were professors at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

. Cordero graduated from Columbia University in New York in 1953. The following year she met American civil rights activist

Julian Mayfield Julian Hudson Mayfield (June 6, 1928 – October 20, 1984) was an American actor, director, writer, lecturer and civil rights activist. Early life Julian Hudson Mayfield was born on June 6, 1928, in Greer, South Carolina, and was raised from ...

, whom she married in 1954 . They had two children.

Career

Cordero and Mayfield moved to Puerto Rico in 1954, where they lived until 1959. In Puerto Rico, she conducted a Rockefeller-funded research study to determine how to provide adequate medical care to poor rural communities.Cordero, Ana Livia. "The Determination of Medical Care Needs in Relation to a Concept of Minimal Adequate Care: An Evaluation of the Curative Outpatient Services of a Rural Health Centre." Medical Care 2, no. 2 (1964): 95. In 1960 they traveled to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. In 1961 they moved to the newly independent

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, inspired by the leadership of

Kwame Nkrumah Francis Kwame Nkrumah (, 21 September 1909 – 27 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He served as Prime Minister of the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast from 1952 until 1957, when it gained ...

. While in Ghana, Cordero ran a women's health clinic and served as physician to

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

, tending him until his death in 1963. She was affiliated with the National Institute of Health and Medical Research, Accra. While living in Ghana, Cordero and Mayfield separated. Mayfield left the country in 1966, and Cordero was expelled shortly after that, eventually returning to Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico she continued her work as a doctor and political activist. She advocated Puerto Rican independence, and she was one of the representatives of the Pro-Independence Movement to the 1966 Tricontinental Conference in Havana, Cuba. She was arrested for her activism in 1968. Her group maintained active contact with the African-American liberation movement on the mainland. In 1978 she was involved in protesting the

Cerro Maravilla murders The Cerro Maravilla murders, also known as the Cerro Maravilla massacre, occurred on July 25, 1978, at Cerro Maravilla, a mountain in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Rafael Torrech San Inocencio. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 18 October 2010. Retr ...

Bibliography

* Cordero, Ana Livia, and Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico. ''Cerro Maravilla: Estudio Del Informe Del Departamento De Justicia''. an Juan P.R.: Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, 1979. * Cordero, Ana Livia. "The Determination of Medical Care Needs in Relation to a Concept of Minimal Adequate Care: An Evaluation of the Curative Outpatient Services of a Rural Health Centre." Medical Care 2, no. 2 (1964): 95–103.

References

External links

Ana Livia Cordero Papers.Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Ana Livia 1931 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Puerto Rican physicians 20th-century Puerto Rican women physicians Puerto Rican independence activists 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women scientists Puerto Rican women activists Columbia University alumni