The First Paramedics in America Were Black

So why don't we know about them?

Freedom House Ambulance

In the late 1960s, Pittsburgh's Hill District, along with countless other Black communities, faced a serious healthcare crisis. The predominantly African American neighborhood had virtually no reliable emergency medical services. When emergencies occurred, residents were typically picked up by police vehicles rather than proper ambulances, leading many to avoid calling for help altogether, even in life-threatening situations.

There was a major need for an emergency service that was safe for the Black community to use and that’s when a former Freedom House meals-on-wheels van was transformed into America's first modern ambulance service. Freedom House Ambulance Service were a laundry list of “firsts”:

Freedom House paramedics were the first in the country to: intubate a patient on the street, deliver an electric shock out on the field, reverse an opioid overdose with naloxone, and read and send an EKG while en route.

John Moon while he was in Freedom House

What made this program truly groundbreaking was their decision to staff it entirely with Black paramedics recruited from the local community - people who were often labeled "unemployable." One of the original Freedom House paramedics was a man named John Moon, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing. His story needs to be made into a movie asap. You can watch the full interview at the end of this article.