February is Black History Month. Remembering Dr. James McCune Smith.

Dr. James McCune Smith (see www.jamesmccunesmith.com) was a noted abolitionist and the first African-American to hold a medical degree. Born to an African-American mother, some accounts state she had been a slave, Smith left the US to study in Scotland when no American university who accept him as a student due to the color of his skin. He returned to the US with a degree in medicine and led a live devoted to community service. Smith lived through the Draft Riots in New York, the US Civil War, the assassination of President Lincoln.  He died just months after slaves were freed upon the end of the Civil War.

Be sure to view Dr. James McCune Smith on the StarCensus.