James McCune Smith James McCune Smith (1813-1865) was born to a woman in slavery; however, due to the gradual abolition policy of New York, he was born free. Although faced with racial discrimination, Smith was able to persevere and become the first African-American to receive a medical degree. Throughout his life, Smith was also a prominent figure in the fight for black equality.
Education James McCune Smith was exceptionally bright academically, and as such was admitted to the New York African Free School around the age of nine, and was chosen to give his first abolitionist speech at age eleven. Despite his reputation as a high-achieving student, Dr. Smith was denied entry into many medical schools due to his race. As such, Smith chose to seek further education outside of America and was admitted to the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Here, he obtained his BA, MA, and MD, graduating top of his class. Upon graduation, Smith became the first African American to receive a medical degree. Before heading home to America, Dr. Smith chose to complete a medical internship in Paris. Practice Upon returning home, Smith was again faced with racial discrimination despite his highly regarded reputation and achievements. Smith was denied the ability to practice medicine in America, as well as the ability to become a member of the American Medical Association. Although met with resistance, Smith was able to open his own practice, until 1846 when he chose to become the lead physician at the Colored Orphan Asylum. Here he cared for the education and health of over 1000 African-American children. Humanitarian Work Throughout his life, Smith dedicated time to educate people and fight for black rights. He was a prominent abolitionist, developed the National Council of the Colored People with Frederick Douglass, and worked to discredit pseudo-scientific justifications of slavery such as the racially-biased 1840 Census that cited high insanity and mortality rates among free blacks as a justification for slavery – without correction for age (his findings on the impact of this statistical error were published in his paper “A Dissertation on the Influence of Climate on Longevity”). Resources Duane, A. M., & Thurston, T. (n.d.). Read AFS Bios. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from https://www.nyhistory.org/web/africanfreeschool/bios/james-mccune-smith.html Mitchell, E. (2019, February 2). Black History Month: Leaders in Microbiology. Retrieved August 17, 2020, from http://blog.eoscu.com/blog/black-history-month-leaders-in-microbiology Morgan, T. M. (2003). The education and medical practice of Dr. James McCune Smith (1813-1865), first black American to hold a medical degree. J Natl Med Assoc., 95(7), 603-614. Rebekah Kukurudz Undergraduate student (Gerstein Lab)
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AuthorWe are graduate students at the Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba Archives
October 2023
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