June Jackson Christmas
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June Jackson Christmas (June 7, 1924 – December 31, 2023) was an American psychiatrist. She served as New York City Commissioner of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services,[1] member of President Jimmy Carter transition team,[2] the beneficiary of Human-Services Award,[3] the founder of a community psychiatric program in Harlem - Harlem Rehabilitation Center.[4][5] Christmas served as a member of Governor Mario Cuomo's Advisory Committee on Black Affairs.
Christmas served as vice-president of the American Psychiatric Association and the president of the Public Health Association of NYC.[6] In 1999, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Medical Fellowships. She also was a member of Vassar's Board of Trustees from 1978 to 1989.[7] She was an executive director of the Urban Issues Group, an organization with focus on issues specific to New Yorkers of African descent.[8]
June Jackson Christmas was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 7, 1924.[9] She experienced racism during her childhood, including being denied a prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies, denied entrance to a roller skating rink, and denied membership in the National Honor Society despite being class salutatorian.[10]
Christmas was one of the first Black students admitted to Vassar College, where she graduated with a B.S. in zoology.[11][12][13] She then earned a medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine.[13] She also earned a certificate in psychoanalysis from the William Alanson White Institute.[13]