The City of St. Louis announces the closing of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, while the other public hospital — the largely white City Hospital #1 — remains open. This decision sparks protests in the Ville neighborhood, where Homer G. Phillips is located.
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1978: Maternity Hospital building resegregates, then abandons policy
Robert Frank, Barnes Hospital director, temporarily establishes “geographic separation of patients” in the Maternity Hospital building, with ward patients (largely Black) on certain floors and private patients (mostly white) on others. The effect is resegregation. A brief protest occurs, and the policy is abandoned. Image: From the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, December 1978
1977: Black surgeon Julian Mosley, MD, reflects on dealing with prejudice
In Outlook magazine’s Fall 1977 issue, Black surgeon Julian Mosley, MD, reflects on dealing with prejudice throughout his career: “I’ve learned that certain types of people aren’t worth arguing with. However, it does hurt when good friends who are intelligent make inadvertent remarks which demonstrate that deep down they have an undercoating of ingrained prejudice […]
1977: Helen E. Nash, MD: President of SLCH medical staff
Helen E. Nash, MD, serves as president of the medical staff at Children’s Hospital from 1977 to 1979. Image: Helen E. Nash, MD
1973: LaFrances Cockrell: First Black nurse to hold administrative responsibilities
Nurse LaFrances Cockrell is named the associate director of nursing at Barnes Hospital, overseeing obstetrics and gynecology, nurseries and the otolaryngology divisions, making her the first Black nurse at Barnes to hold administrative responsibilities. Image: LaFrances Cockrell, right, pictured in the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, December 1965
1972: Robert Lee, PhD, becomes assistant dean for minority student affairs
Robert Lee, PhD, becomes the assistant dean for minority student affairs at the School of Medicine and remains in this job until 1992. Robert Lee oral history audio recording available via Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives » Image: Robert Lee, PhD, speaks with four recently accepted medical students, 1988.
1971: WUSM exceeds national average of Black medical students
Starting this year, the School of Medicine exceeds the national average in its proportion of Black medical students. Image: Washington University medical students, circa 1970
1971: William L. Allen Jr., MD: First Black member of Department of Radiology
William L. Allen Jr., MD, is the first Black member of the Department of Radiology. Two years later, the American College of Radiology awards him its gold medal, its highest honor.
1970: Aubrey R. Morrison, MD: First Black intern, chief resident and full professor
Aubrey R. Morrison, MD, becomes the school’s first Black intern, and later the first Black chief resident in internal medicine. In 1987, he is named the school’s first Black full professor. The Washington University Medical Center Alumni Association honors him with its Faculty Achievement Award in 2016. In a 2021 special article for the Journal […]
1969: Student committee makes recommendations to WUSM Executive Faculty
The Student Committee on Minority Student Admissions at the School of Medicine, including Julian Mosley and Karen Scruggs, makes recommendations to the Executive Faculty on ways to improve the recruiting and retention of underrepresented minorities.