This year's #BlackHistoryMonth theme is "Black Resistance." African American scientists and physicians have resisted oppression within academic medicine, served communities across the country, and transformed our field for the better since before the AAMC was formed. You can learn more from the AAMC about 10 of these pioneers, starting with Rebecca Lee Crumpler - the first Black woman to receive an MD degree in the U.S. in 1864 and an example of such resistance and achievement.
After years as a nurse, Crumpler earned her MD at the New England Female Medical College, where she also was the institution's only Black graduate. She moved to Virginia after the Civil War, where she worked with other Black doctors who cared for formerly enslaved people in the Freedmen's Bureau. Crumpler also wrote "A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts," which addressed children's and women's health. https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/celebrating-10-african-american-medical-pioneers
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David Skorton
President and CEO
Association of American Medical Colleges
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