Black doctors only represent 5.7% of the medical professionals in the United States. While there is a small percentage, this number may never have come to be if it weren’t for certain Black medical pioneers.
Mary Eliza Mahoney, Rebecca Crumpler, Jane Cooke Wright, and Marilyn Hughes Gaston may not be names you’ve heard of but, they were four Black women who paved the way for future generations of doctors and transformed the landscape of American medicine. Â
Mary Eliza Mahoney
In 1879, Mahoney made history by becoming the first African American licensed nurse in the United States.
Born in 1845 in Boston, Massachusetts, Mahoney wanted to help others from an early age. As a teenager, she started working at the New England Hospital for Women and Children. This hospital was unique in its dedication to treating only women and children and for being staffed entirely by female physicians. For 15 years, Mahoney held various roles, including janitor, cook, and laundress. She also worked as a nurse’s aide, gaining valuable hands-on experience that deepened her understanding of the nursing profession.
In 1878, Mahoney was admitted to the hospital’s rigorous 16-month professional graduate nursing program. The program combined intensive coursework with hands-on hospital training, Of the 42 students who enrolled in 1878, only four successfully graduated in 1879 — Mahoney among them.
Mahoney chose to work as a private nurse, focusing on individualized patient care. She primarily served wealthy white families along the East Coast, earning a reputation for her professionalism, patience, and compassionate bedside manner.
Mahoney remained an active advocate within the nursing profession. In 1896, she joined the Nurses Associated Alumnae of the United States and Canada (NAAUSC), later known as the American Nurses Association (ANA). After facing hostility with ANA, Mahoney co-founded the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses.
Rebecca Lee Crumpler
Rebecca Lee Crumpler overcame racial and gender barriers to become the first African American woman in the U.S. to earn an M.D. degree.
Born in 1831 in Delaware, Crumpler was raised in Pennsylvania by an aunt who cared for sick neighbors, likely inspiring her medical career. By 1852, she worked as a nurse in Charlestown, Massachusetts, before being admitted to the New England Female Medical College in 1860. She graduated in 1864, becoming the only Black woman to do so before the school merged with Boston University in 1873.
After a brief practice in Boston, Crumpler moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 1865, and joined other Black physicians in caring for freed slaves, working with the Freedmen’s Bureau and community groups despite facing intense racism.
In 1883, she published A Book of Medical Discourses, drawing from her years of practice to provide medical advice for women and children. By 1880, she had retired and moved to Hyde Park, Massachusetts.
Jane Cooke Wright
Jane Cooke Wright’s work focused on developing and testing new chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment. By 1967, she was the highest-ranking African American woman in a U.S. medical institution.
Born in 1919 in New York City, Wright followed in the footsteps of her father, who founded the Cancer Research Center at Harlem Hospital. She graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1945 and became chief resident in 1949.
Throughout her career she conducted extensive research on tissue culture techniques, enabling the study of cancer cells in a controlled environment. This innovative approach allowed her to test the effectiveness of various drugs on cancer cells, transforming the field of cancer pharmacology. Wright’s research led to the development of several important chemotherapy regimens used to treat various cancers.
In 1955, she became director of cancer chemotherapy research at NYU Medical Center, making groundbreaking advancements in treatment.
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Dr. Wright to the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke, leading to the creation of a national network of treatment centers. In 1967, she became Associate Dean at New York Medical College, the highest position held by an African American woman in a U.S. medical institution.
Dr. Wright became the first woman president of the New York Cancer Society in 1971 and continued her work in cancer research until retiring in 1987. Over her 40-year career, she published numerous studies and led international research delegations, leaving a lasting impact on the field of oncology.
Marilyn Hughes Gaston
Marilyn Hughes Gaston‘s research significantly advanced our understanding of sickle cell disease and its impact on children, particularly in poor and minority communities.
Gaston was born in 1939 in Cleveland and was inspired at age nine to become a doctor. She earned a medical degree in pediatrics from the University of Cincinnati in 1964. Instead of pursuing private practice, she helped establish a community health center in Lincoln Heights.
In 1986, while at the National Institutes of Health, her research proved that early treatment could prevent sickle cell complications, influencing U.S. health policy. Congress soon funded nationwide screening programs, and within a year, 40 states had adopted them.
In 1990, Gaston became director of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, the first Black woman to lead a major U.S. public health bureau. She expanded community and migrant health centers and strengthened the National Health Service Corps, improving care for underserved populations.
Her groundbreaking research led to nationwide newborn screening programs, significantly reducing suffering and mortality.
Remembering these remarkable women reminds us how far Black people have come and encourages us to keep going to make more groundbreaking moves in the medical field and beyond.
