First African-American to hold a medical degree: brief history of James McCune Smith, abolitionist, educator, and physician.

Dr. James McCune Smith, the first African-American to obtain a medical degree, has a remarkable legacy of historical proportions, yet his immense impact on society remains relatively unknown. He may be most celebrated for his effectiveness in abolitionist politics, however, his pioneering influence in medicine is equally remarkable. As examples, McCune Smith pioneered the use of medically based statistics to challenge the notion of African-American racial inferiority. He scientifically challenged the racial theories promoted in Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia (Jefferson T., 1832), and he was a harsh critic of phrenology (study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities). Furthermore, notwithstanding being denied entry to America's universities and medical societies because of his race, McCune Smith became a giving physician to orphans, an accomplished statistician, medical author, and social activist who worked to end slavery. His pioneering work debunked doubts about the ability of African-Americans to transition into free society. Specifically, he used his training in medicine and statistics to refute the arguments of slave owners and prominent thought leaders that African-Americans were inferior and that slaves were better off than free African-Americans or white urban laborers. Frederick Douglass, narrator of the Anti-Slavery Movement, cited Dr. James McCune Smith as the single most important influence on his life. Dr. McCune Smith, along with Frederick Douglass, Gerrit Smith, John Brown and other intellectual pioneers of the time, were instrumental in making the elimination of slavery possible.

African-American Medical Personnel in the US Army in the First World War.

In WWI, the United States was segregated by custom and law, and the Army obeyed the laws, reducing opportunities for Black medical professionals to serve their country in uniform. This article surveys African-American medical personnel serving in the US Army in World War I. It includes physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and other commissioned officers, as well as medical enlisted men. Overall, despite segregation and associated professional limitations, determined individuals still served with distinction in a variety of roles, opening doors for future advances.

Discovering a Hidden Figure of Service and Leadership: The Reverend Charles Edgar Newsome, MD.

Collaborative research between the University School of Medicine Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Health Sciences Library and Department of African and African American Studies recently identified Dr. Charles Edgar Newsome as the institution's first African American physician graduate in 1893. Born May 25, 1856 in the town of Buffalo within Putnam County of Northwest Virginia, he served for 3 years and 6 months as a member of the Regimental Band of the United States Army 25th Infantry, also known as the Buffalo Soldiers, became Grand Master of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, and served communities of the state as a reverend, physician, and civic leader. Archival records and photographs uncover the remarkable life of Reverend Charles Edgar Newsome, MD, a hidden figure in history.

M. Deborrah Hyde, MD, MS: the second African-American female neurosurgeon.

BACKGROUND: A less-publicized consequence of the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century is the door of opportunity it provided for African-American women to become neurosurgeons, beginning in 1984 with Alexa I. Canady (University of Minnesota). Unfortunately, the exploits of a contemporary African-American woman neurosurgeon, M. Deborrah Hyde, have remained largely in obscurity. This report details the career and exploits of Hyde, one of the first women to receive neurosurgery training in Ohio. METHODS: A comprehensive review of pertinent modern and historical records spanning the past century was performed. RESULTS: Born in 1949 in Laurel, MS, Hyde received her BS with honors from Tougaloo College in 1969 and her MS in biology at Cleveland State University. Despite being told in medical school that she was not qualified to compete with "better-prepared" nonminority students, Hyde received her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1977, earning election into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. The next year, she began neurosurgery residency at Case Western under Dr. Robert A. Ratcheson and Dr. Robert F. Spetzler, finishing in 1982 as the program's first female graduate. In 1985, Hyde became the second African-American woman certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and in 1991 she established the Beacon of Hope Scholarship Foundation for underprivileged youth. She has subsequently continued a distinguished career in private practice, presently residing in West Hills, CA. CONCLUSION: Hyde's diligence, perseverance and commitment enabled her to overcome intense sexism and racism to train at Case Western, becoming the second African-American woman neurosurgeon and the third woman trained in Ohio (first and second of which were Carole Miller and Janet Bay). As the first woman to train under Ratcheson and Spetzler, her determination, excellence and generosity continue to inspire people of all races.

The Underappreciated Doctors of The American Civil Rights Movement. Part I: Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard, MD.

During the fight to end segregation in the United States, most of the 25 or so black physicians who had not already left Mississippi took risks to become active in civil rights locally and nationally. One of the first was T.R.M. Howard, MD, whose life story is both an encouragement and warning for today's physicians. Howard, the protégé of a white Adventist physician, became active in civil rights during medical school. While serving as chief surgeon of the all-black hospital in Mississippi, he formed his own civil rights organization in 1951 and worked to solve the shootings of 2 of its members, George Lee and Gus Courts, and the murder of Emmett Till in 1955. His reports of these events and collaborations with other civil rights icons helped trigger the modern civil rights movement. At the same time, he became a nationally known proponent of abortion rights and then fled to Chicago in 1956, after arming his Delta mansion with long guns and a Thompson machine gun. Howard will be remembered for many things, including his activism for the social determinants of health as president of the National Medical Association.

An Unwilling Partnership With the Great Society Part II: Physicians Discover Malnutrition, Hunger and the Politics of Hunger.

The civil rights and social legislation of the Great Society following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was slow to provide relief for black in the South. Mississippi Senator James Eastland led an effort to defund Head Start, including his state's program, Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM), a program with a strong medical component. A senatorial committee, including Robert Kennedy, came to investigate CDGM in 1967. The unimaginable poverty, hunger, malnutrition and chronic disease found in black families was vehemently denied by Eastland. Visits of physician groups then corroborated the findings. The Mississippi delegation made sure that food relief never came and funding for CDGM ceased. Health services were lost to 6000 impoverished children. The epic television documentary, Hunger in America, soon premiered on network television. It triggered ongoing efforts to address health disparities, including implementation of the National Nutrition and Health Survey (NHANES). Similar physician leadership is needed to address the lasting health disparities in our country.

Alexander Thomas Augusta--physician, teacher and human rights activist.

Commissioned surgeon of colored volunteers, April 4, 1863, with the rank of Major. Commissioned regimental surgeon on the 7th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops, October 2, 1863. Brevet Lieutenant Colonel of Volunteers, March 13, 1865, for faithful and meritorious services--mustered out October 13, 1866. So reads the tombstone at Arlington National Cemetery of Alexander Thomas Augusta, the first black surgeon commissioned in the Union Army during the Civil War and the first black officer-rank soldier to be buried at Arlington Cemetery. He was also instrumental in founding the institutions that later became the hospital and medical college of Howard University and the National Medical Association.

Practice and protest: black physicians and the evolution of race-conscious professionalism.

Throughout history, Black physicians have been bound by a dual obligation: to pursue excellence and success in their profession, and to leverage their professional stature to improve the condition of their communities. This paradigm of race-conscious professionalism has affected greatly the experience of Black physicians, and shaped their formulation of professional identity. This paper explores the relationship between professional life and racial activism in the Black physician community from the pre-Civil War era until the present. The nature of this negotiation has shifted according to the professional and social dynamics of the era. Before the Civil War, Black physician-activists were forced to relinquish their professional duties in order to engage in activism. In later years, activism emerged as a valuable endeavor in the Black medical community, which offered greater opportunities for activism within the profession. The implications of these findings for contemporary physicians are discussed.