Black history: Learning from the past looking to the future
One such legacy is that of University of Glasgow graduate Dr. James McCune Smith (1813-1865), who became the first African American to hold a medical degree - which he gained during his time in Glasgow.
Freed from slavery on 4 July 1827, at age 14, by the Emancipation Act of New York, Smith attended the African Free School in Manhattan, where he was described as an "exceptionally bright student".
Upon graduation he applied to Columbia University and Geneva Medical College in New York State but was denied admission due to his race.
Encouraged by a former teacher he went on to apply - and be accepted - to study medicine at the University of Glasgow.
Through abolitionist connections he was welcomed there by members of the London Agency Anti-Slavery Society. According to the historian Thomas M. Morgan, Smith enjoyed the relative racial tolerance in Scotland and England which had legally abolished slavery in 1833.
Smith threw himself into his studies. He graduated at the top of his university class in 1835, staying on in Glasgow to gain a master’s degree in 1836 and a medical degree in 1837.
Armed with these qualifications he returned to New York where he was met with a hero's welcome by his former classmates and teachers. For the next 28 years he worked for the good of his fellow citizens, practising as a doctor and running the first black-owned public pharmacy in the United States.
In 1863 Smith was appointed professor of anthropology at Wilberforce College, Ohio. He died two years later on 17 November 1865 at the age of 52 – only 19 days before ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which finally abolished slavery across the United States.
Smith never forgot his time in Scotland, and Glasgow hasn’t forgotten him. In April 2021 The University of Glasgow, his alma mater, opened its new £90.6m James McCune Smith Learning Hub providing state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities for over 2,500 students.
University Principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli says: "James McCune Smith was truly a pioneer, not only becoming the first African American to gain a medical degree but also one of the leading intellectuals of his time ... The University of Glasgow is proud of our association with his legacy, and it is fitting that we honour it in the naming of this building.
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