More than a century after Leonard Medical School graduated its last class, its legacy continues to shape conversations about health equity, medical education and access to care.
Recent national attention has renewed interest in the historic institution, which was established on Shaw University’s campus in 1880 and became the nation’s first four-year medical school dedicated to educating African American physicians. During its nearly four decades of operation, Leonard Medical School prepared hundreds of Black physicians who went on to serve communities across the South and beyond at a time when opportunities in medicine were largely inaccessible to African Americans. See full article here.