Antiracism, Diversity, and Inclusion in Medicine: Home

Roscoe Giles, MD.

Dr. Roscoe C. Giles became the first African-American graduate of what was then known as Cornell University Medical College in 1915. According to his unpublished biography, he received a death threat and was asked to leave the medical college because the faculty felt “he would have trouble with the patients during his clerkships.” He persisted and went on to an impressive career following his graduation. Dr. Giles became a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in 1938, enlisted with the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, and became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a founder-fellow of the International College of Surgeons in 1945, among other professional accomplishments.

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, RMC2005_0237

Constance Derrell, RN, BS, MA, CNM.

Born on the island of Trinidad, Constance Derrell arrived at Ellis Island in 1929 at age 17. She earned her nursing diploma at segregated Lincoln Hospital, and went on to earn a Bachelors of Science in Public Health from New York University, and in 1946 attended the Tuskegee University School of Midwifery. Constance received a substantial scholarship to attend Columbia University Teachers College, and returned to Tuskegee where she became an assistant director of obstetrical nursing education and service. 

When she moved back to New York City in 1949, she found that not only were there still were no jobs for professional midwives, but the State Health Department didn't even have a mechanism to license them. She was accepted as the first black professional nurse to be appointed to a full-time position at the prestigious NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Lying In Hospital.
In addition to quickly becoming head nurse, Constance joined the faculty of the Cornell University-New York Hospital School of Nursing as a clinical instructor. 

Mrs. Derrell has touched the lives of numerous nurse midwives, many of whom are leaders in the profession of midwifery today.

Accession number: P-06071

Aaron Wells, MD.

Dr. Aaron Wells came to the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in 1953 as an instructor, and rose to the clinical associate level in 1971. He was a founder of the task force for recruiting minority students to the medical college. 

Dr. Wells served as director of one of the country’s first adult methadone clinics - the Adult Substance Abuse Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, which helped countless people recover and resume healthy and productive lives. 

In 1964 Dr. Wells was elected as the first national chairman of the Medical Committee for Human Rights, working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others to bring medical aid to civil rights advocates. Formed at a time when racial segregation in professional medical associations, hospitals, and medical education was common, the MCHR also highlighted race-based inequities in American medicine. 

Accession number: P-07697

Alvin F. Poussaint, MD.

Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint was born in East Harlem and received his MD from what was then known as the Cornell University Medical College in 1960. Dr. Poussaint served as the Southern Field Director of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Jackson, Mississippi from 1965 to 1967, during which time he attended the historic march from Selma to Montgomery to provide medical care to the marchers.
He became the founding Director of the Office of Recruitment and Multicultural Affairs at Harvard’s medical school in 1969, and served as their Faculty Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Following Dr. Poussaint’s retirement in 2019, he became a Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus at Harvard's medical school and is currently a social commentator on race relations in America. 

Poussaint Honored for Lifetime Work to Improve Lives of Black Americans

Accession number: P-03501

Marie Metoyer, MD.

Dr. Marie Metoyer (Class of 1951) is believed to be the first African American woman to graduate from what was then known as Cornell University Medical College. A healer who took an unorthodox route to serving communities during difficult times and a lifelong advocate for women's rights, racial equality, and black scholarship, the College created an annual Marie Metoyer, M.D. Award for Excellence in Community Service. 

Read more about Dr. Metoyer and her legacy here. 

Accession number: P-03459

Carol Storey-Johnson, MD.

Dr. Carol Storey-Johnson (MD 1977) had a 45-year career as a medical student, resident, and faculty member at Weill Cornell Medicine before her retirement in 2019. Dr. Storey-Johnson’s first connection to Weill Cornell Medicine began with the Summer Research Fellowship Program (now known as the Travelers Program), when she was an undergraduate student at Yale University. Dr. Storey-Johnson later graduated from what was then known as [NM1] the Cornell University Medical College in 1977, and continued at the medical center as a resident. Her career greatly impacted medical education of students at Weill Cornell, first beginning in 1980 when she joined the faculty as an instructor. She held positions as director of the primary care residency training program and associate director of the Office of Curriculum and Educational Development and acting associate dean for Curricular Affairs.

Accession Number: P-07501

James Curtis, MD.

Dr. James Curtis joined what was then known as the Cornell University Medical Colleges the assistant dean of minority affairs and associate professor of psychiatry in 1969. He rose to the rank of associate dean in 1970. Dr. Curtis was charged with developing minority recruitment, and helped with a major transformation in admissions and the development of a robust affirmative action program at the medical college.

Accession no.: P-06029

Mae Jemison, MD.

Dr. Mae Jemison traveled to Cuba, Thailand, and East Africa as part of her medical education before graduating from what was then known as the Cornell University Medical College in 1981. She became the first Black woman to travel into space in 1992 through her work with NASA, and the following year also traveled to space in popular culture by appearing in an episode Star Trek: The Next Generation. Among many accomplishments, Dr. Jemison was also a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College, and has worked on initiatives to encourage children to understand agricultural sciences.

Accession no.: P-03607 (excerpt)

Roscoe Giles, MD.

Dr. Roscoe C. Giles became the first African-American graduate of what was then known as Cornell University Medical College in 1915. According to his unpublished biography, he received a death threat and was asked to leave the medical college because the faculty felt “he would have trouble with the patients during his clerkships.” He persisted and went on to an impressive career following his graduation. Dr. Giles became a Diplomate of the American Board of Surgery in 1938, enlisted with the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, and became a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a founder-fellow of the International College of Surgeons in 1945, among other professional accomplishments.

Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, RMC2005_0237