Known for producing excellence and empowering talented people since its inception, Howard’s College of Medicine has been a huge part of Black American life for centuries.
From its founding and all the way through the Civil Rights Movement and onward, the university has educated legions of Black doctors in the U.S.
Many Southern white institutions didn’t accept Black students until the 1960s. The racist roots of this country prevented educational opportunities for so many young, Black, gifted minds.
But in 1867, the doors of Howard University Medical Center opened – and opportunity awaited the inaugural class. The university’s opening ultimately paved the way for a future of excellence.
Howard’s founders knew we couldn’t wait around for whites to accept us. And some of the university’s earliest students went on to do extraordinary things.
James T. Wormley, the first student to graduate from the school of medicine, for example, worked as a pharmacist for low-income people, and also participated in anti-segregation sit-ins and other acts of activism.
Countless graduates continue to bring their top-tier medical knowledge back to their home communities.
Like the founding faculty, despite mountains of challenges and adversity placed in front of us, we can still produce greatness. And better yet? Take care of each other.