50 years of blacks in medicine

Ebony, July, 1995 by Hans J. Massaquoi

AFRICAN-AMERICANS' involvement in medicine goes back at least as far as the immediate post-Colonial period when a former slave by the name of James Derham established himself as one of the leading physicians in New Orleans. Since then, especially during EBONY's half-century lifespan, Black physicians and health care givers have increasingly distinguished themselves not only as the principal guardians of the Black community's health, but as servants of humanity as a whole. Whether as professors in academic medicine, as researchers at predominantly Black or White institutions, as heads of prestigious medical organizations, as activists working toward racial justice in health care, as key public health officials, as scientists in the exploration of space, or as clinicians and nurses in hospitals or in private practice, Blacks have made their presence felt and established indelible legacies of excellence.

For many of the Black medical pioneers, the struggle for professional eminence was the easy part. The far more difficult part was to first gain access to predominantly White medical schools where they could acquire and hone their medical skills. Since 1945, some 250 Black students were obliged to crash racial barriers at previously all-White medical schools in order to become physicians. The last of these pioneers was graduated from Marshall (W. Va.) University Medical School as recently as 1982. While some Black students were admitted without much fanfare or resistance, others were subjected to ostracism and abuse. Dr. Edith Irby Jones, for instance, who in 1985 became the first woman president of the National Medical Association, had to endure four lonely years of isolation after becoming the first Black student admitted to the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in 1948. Yet, despite the progress in medical school integration, the three traditionally Black medical schools, Howard, Meharry and Morehouse under the respective leadership of Dean Floyd J. Malveaux, M.D., Ph.d., President John E. Maupin Jr., D.D.S., and President Louis Sullivan, M.D., are still the principal sources of Black physicians.

Some of the Black medical superstars spent as much time and effort fighting for racial quality in their profession and quality medical care for Blacks as they did battling diseases. Foremost among them was the late William Montague cobb, M.D., Ph.D., who is regarded by his peers as one of the giants of academic and activist medicine. As president of the NAACP, he effectively blended medicine and civil rights. The founder of the American Association of Physical Anthropology, Dr. Cobb helped build the foundation for succeeding generations of Black physicians as chairman of Howard University College of Medicine's department of anatomy from 1947 to 1969. During 27 years as editor of the Journal of the National Medical Association, he developed it into a highly respected publication and established himself as the chronicler and principal historian of African-Americans in medicine. Dr. Cobb died in 1990 at age 86.

Another medical trail-blazer of the `40s was the late Charles Drew, M.D. At the time of his untimely death in an auto accident in 1950, Dr. Drew was recognized as the preeminent specialist in blood research and as the founder-director of the first American Red Cross blood bank. As head of the department of surgery and chief surgeon at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, D. C., Dr. Drew worked tirelessly teaching medical students, training surgical residents, providing high quality care for Black patients and obtaining hospital privileges for Black surgeons. He received the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest honor, for his accomplishments and, in a highly unusual action, was made a fellow of the prestigious American College of Surgeons posthumously.

Among the Black medical veterans, 92-year-old Leonidas H. Berry, M.D., is considered a superstar among stars. An internationally recognized authority on digestive diseases and endoscopy (the visual examination of the digestive tract through a long fiberoptic scope), Dr. Berry trained hundreds of physicians and authored several books, including the authoritative 630-page Gastro-intestinal Pan Endoscopy, based on his years of experience as a teacher. In 1975, Dr. Berry retired as chief of Endoscopy Service and senior attending physician at Chicago's Cook County Hospital.

Long before sickle cell anemia was generally recognized as a health threat to Blacks, Roland B. Scott, M.D., had established himself as the preeminent authority on the disease. The first Black admitted to membership in the American Pediatric Society and the Society for Pediatric Research, and one of the first Black diplomates of the American Board of Pediatrics, Dr. Scott in 1971 founded the Center for Sickle Cell Disease at Howard University College of Medicine. He served as the center's director until his retirement in 1990 at age 81.

Closely following in the footsteps of the veteran pioneers, many younger Black physicians have become pioneers in their own right. Among them is Clive O. Callender, M.D., a 1963 Meharry graduate. After a year as a medical missionary in Africa, he entered the field of organ transplantation. In 1973, Dr. Callender established a kidney transplant program at Howard that made the university one of the nation's major federally funded transplant centers. The first Black physician to participate in liver and kidney transplantation, Dr. Callender is also the first Black member of the National Organ Transplant Task Force and a persuasive spokesman for organ donations.