02/14/2025
Bessie Blount Griffin
Born in Hickory (today Chesapeake), Virginia, on November 24, 1914; Blount attended Panzer College of Physical Education (now Montclair State University) and Union County Junior College (Union County College) where she obtained certification in physical therapy. As one of the few African American physical therapists at the time, she blended interpretive dance, an avocation of hers, to enhance her patient’s treatments. During WWII Blount practiced at various veterans’ hospitals restoring physical function to wounded soldiers. Recognizing that much of the equipment in use at the time was inadequate, Blount found innovative ways to rehabilitate her patients. In particular, she helped arm amputees compensate by teaching them to use their feet. She also created a food receptacle equipped with an electrical motor that propelled food through a protruding tube.
In 1969, Blount began a second career in forensics as a chief examiner for police departments in Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia. She was the first American woman admitted as a student at the Document Division of the Metropolitan Police Forensic Science Laboratory in London, England (Scotland Yard) in 1977.
Bessie Blount died on December 30, 2009 in Newfield, New Jersey. She was 95.
