Tarpon Springs Campus students created a display of heroes who are not often listed during the celebration of African American History Month. The display will be in the Library/Learning Center in the campus’ FA building through the end of February.

This blog post was written by Emily Adkins, one of the students who helped create the Tarpon Springs Campus display of African American History Month heroes. Ethan Hart, Associate Director of Learning Resources at the Tarpon Springs Campus, worked with students to develop this project. 

Daniel Hale Williams, Frederick Douglass Patterson, Dorothy Lavinia Brown, and Ernest Everett Just are among those remembered this African American History Month for their significant contributions in the fields of Health Sciences and Veterinary Technology.

Daniel Hale Williams

Daniel Hale Williams was an African American general surgeon, who established the Provident Hospital and Training School Association. The organization trained black nurses and employed doctors of all races.

Williams is the first surgeon to perform an open heart surgery, and more importantly, he was the first surgeon to open the chest cavity successfully without the patient dying from infection.

Frederick Douglass Patterson

Frederick Douglass Patterson earned a Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine in 1927. He was also the founder of the United Negro College Fund and served as president of the Tuskegee University from 1935-1953.

Dorothy Lavinia Brown

In 1948, Dorothy Lavinia Brown graduated Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. She chose surgery for her residency, and in 1955 she was the first African American woman to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She credits Dr. Matthew Walker of Meharry and George W. Hubbard Hospital as being “a brave man” because he accepted her into the residency program, despite advice from fellow staff that a woman could not withstand the rigors of surgery.

Ernest Everett Just

Ernest Everett Just was an African American biologist, who recognized the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of an organism. He focused much of his work on fertilization, experimental parthenogenesis, hydration, cell division, and radiation effects on cells.