Black Doctor: A Biography of James McCune Smith, MD, the First Fully Trained and Credentialed Black Doctor in America

By Christopher L Webber

Dr. James McCune Smith was more than just a pioneer.

Born in slavery in New York City when slavery was still legal there, James McCune Smith managed to get a good elementary education in a Quaker school but was turned down by colleges because he was Black. Seeing his ability, his pastor raised funds to send him to Scotland where in five years he earned a BA, MA, and MD with honors. He returned to New York

with better training than most American doctors and established a practice serving Black and white alike. Smith took a leading role in the abolition movement, working closely with Frederick Douglass and writing a regular column for Douglass's paper. James McCune Smith formed a rare Black-white friendship with Gerrit Smith, a wealthy white landowner in upstate

New York; when Gerrit Smith, Frederick Douglass, and others formed a Radical Abolition Party to work to abolish slavery, McCune Smith served as chair of the party's convention-the first time a Black American had chaired a national convention. One of the most important voices in the pre-Civil War abolition movement, this biography brings him to vibrant life as a key figure in American history.

This is his story.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1958870234
• ISBN13: 9781958870235
• Release Date: December 2024
• Publisher: Western New Mexico University
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"