Timeline - Desegregation History

Recognizing our past, shaping our future

Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital were born as places of healing. But even as our institutions rose to national prominence, they also perpetuated racial injustice — harboring exclusion, segregation and mistrust.

Black people were deliberately excluded from being administrators or faculty. Black students were unwelcome. Black patients were treated in segregated wards or buildings, if they were treated at all.

Yet throughout our history, leaders in our community have arisen to demand justice loudly, to foster it quietly or simply to live as exemplars of a better way. We fully commit to following the path these wise leaders have forged.

Below, explore their stories and experiences on the Washington University Medical Campus, spanning more than a century.

1820

1820 6

1820: Missouri joins Union

Missouri joins the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state through federal legislation known as the Missouri Compromise.

1846

1846 1

1846: First city hospital opens

The first city hospital, St. Louis City Hospital, opens as a segregated institution, treating Black patients only in inferior parts of the hospital. It becomes known as City Hospital #1.

1865

1865 11

1865: Slavery abolished in Missouri

A state ordinance abolishes slavery in Missouri.

1884

1884 1

1884: SLCH accepts Black children at walk-in clinic

After relocating from its original 1879 whites-only facility, St. Louis Children’s Hospital accepts Black children at a walk-in clinic but not as inpatients. Image: St. Louis Children’s Hospital, 1884

1891

1891 1

1891: Medical Department of Washington University established

Missouri Medical College and Washington University Hospital, Jefferson and Lucas Avenue Buildings.

Washington University affiliates with St. Louis Medical College, establishing the Medical Department of Washington University. Eight years later, the Missouri Medical College joins the university. Both the university and the medical college are segregated. Image: Missouri Medical College and Washington University Hospital, Jefferson and Lucas Avenue Buildings

1894

1894 1

1894: Provident Hospital founded

Provident Hospital, later People’s Hospital, is founded as a 75-bed private Black hospital in St. Louis.

1896

1896 18

1896: U.S. Supreme Court rules on “separate but equal” decision

The U.S. Supreme Court decides the landmark Plessy v. Ferguson case. It rules that segregation laws do not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race are equal in quality. It becomes known as the “separate but equal” decision, spawning the “Jim Crow” laws that bar…
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1902

1902 1

1902: Jewish Hospital of St. Louis opens

Black and white postcard, Jewish Hospital, circa 1913.

The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis opens on Delmar Boulevard and soon admits Black patients to its outpatient clinic, though not to the hospital. It moves to Kingshighway Boulevard in 1926. Image: Postcard, Jewish Hospital, circa 1913.

1910

1910 1

1910: Flexner Report on Medical Education published

The Flexner Report on Medical Education scolds poorly run medical schools and leads to the closing of many. On Abraham Flexner’s recommendation, Meharry Medical College and Howard University College of Medicine are the only two historically Black medical schools that survive the initial wave of closings. “[T]he physical well-being of…
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1910 2

“The practice of the Negro physician will be limited to his own race, which in its turn will be cared for better by good Negro physicians than by poor white ones.”

— Abraham Flexner, The Flexner Report on Medical Education, 1910

1914

1914 1

1914: Barnes Hospital opens

Barnes Hospital opens. Its outpatient clinic treats Black patients, but Black hospital patients are admitted to segregated care in two adjacent houses. One room in the Barnes Emergency Division is designated for Black surgical and obstetrical patients. Image: Washington University Medical Campus, 1915. Care for Black hospital patients is restricted…
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1915

1915 1

1915: SLCH opens new segregated facility

St. Louis Children’s Hospital opens a new Central West End building as a segregated facility. Four years later, it begins sending Black pediatric patients to Barnes Hospital’s adult “Colored Ward” for treatment. Image: St. Louis Children’s Hospital, 1915

1919

1919 1

1919: Black patients transferred to City Hospital #2

Black patients are transferred from overcrowded, segregated wards at City Hospital #1 to the newly opened Black public hospital, City Hospital #2, at Garrison and Lawton.

1920

1920 1

1920s: Black patients put in beds in hallways

The City Hospital #2 for Black patients is so congested that patients are often put in beds in hallways. Some patients are shifted to People’s Hospital, the private Black hospital, and the city is charged a daily rate for their care.

1923

1923 1

1923: St. Louis earmarks $1 million for Black hospital

St. Louis passes an $87 million bond issue, with $1 million earmarked for a hospital that would care for Black patients. A dispute soon rages over whether the hospital should be free-standing or an adjunct to the white City Hospital #1. Black advocates, including attorney Homer G. Phillips, press hard…
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1923 1

1923: SLCH opens ward for “colored children”

In the Butler Ward, St. Louis Children's Hospital, circa 1923

Children’s Hospital opens a 17-bed area for “colored children,” called the James G. and Margaret L. Butler Ward. Image: In the Butler Ward, St. Louis Children's Hospital, circa 1923

1923 2

1923: Butler Ward opens

The Butler Ward opens at St. Louis Children’s Hospital in 1923 to serve Black children. It is in use until 1947, shortly after Children's Hospital integrates. Image: In the Butler Ward, St. Louis Children's Hospital

1926

1926 1

1926: Barnes Hospital opens “colored ward” for surgical patients

A “colored ward” for surgical patients is opened in the basement of Barnes Hospital and is eventually named “0400.” It becomes notorious for its location and deplorable conditions. Another ward for Black internal medicine patients is later created by enclosing an old porch on the first floor.

1926 2

“I remember going into [0400] with the surgery chairman Carl Moyer and seeing only Black men. I was shocked by that and, actually, I’ve never forgiven myself because I didn’t make an issue of it. Of course, I was a poor kid from Brooklyn, and I couldn’t run the risk of being kicked out of medical school, but I should have said something: that this is not right.”

— Steven Teitelbaum, MD

1926 3

1926: Barnes Hospital employs Black housekeepers

Ophelia Jackson, from the Barnes Bulletin, 1971

Barnes Hospital employs Black housekeepers, including Ophelia Jackson, who begins 45 years of employment. Image: Ophelia Jackson

1933

1933 1

1933: St. Mary’s Infirmary dedicated as Catholic hospital for Black patients

St. Mary’s Infirmary in St. Louis is dedicated as a Catholic hospital for Black patients. It gives admitting privileges to Black physicians and employs Black nurses. Image: St. Mary's Infirmary, circa 1955

1937

1937 1

1937: Homer G. Phillips Hospital for the Colored opens

Resident roster for Homer G. Phillips Hospital, 1937

Homer G. Phillips Hospital for the Colored, a public hospital for Black patients, opens in the Ville neighborhood of St. Louis. It has more training slots for Black interns and residents than any other hospital nationwide. It is named for Homer G. Phillips, a Black attorney who fought for the…
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1937 2

1937: Segregated care for Black patients continues

Barnes Hospital trustees consider eliminating the treatment of Black patients altogether. School of Medicine Dean Philip Shaffer, PhD, opposes the idea, arguing that for 25 years “it has been one of the fine distinctions of this medical center that it offers medical care without racial or social discrimination.” Segregated care…
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1937 3

1937: Robert Elman, MD, one of many white Jewish physicians at Homer G. Phillips Hospital

Washington University’s Robert Elman, MD, chief of surgery at Homer G. Phillips Hospital from 1937 to 1955, is one of many white Jewish physicians who treat patients there alongside Black physician colleagues. “Excellence in one’s own field, small as it may be, is the best and perhaps the only way…
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1937 4

1937: Homer G. Phillips postcard

A postcard of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, circa 1937

1940

1940 1

“In 1940, I graduated from Meharry Medical School and was accepted as an intern at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. I crossed the bridge over the Mississippi and came up Easton Avenue; I turned right on Whittier, keeping my eye out for the hospital, since I didn’t know what it looked like. Finally, I saw it — and I had to pull over. I was amazed; I had never seen anything like it. I had to park and turn off the engine and just look at this beautiful hospital. I said to myself, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God!”

— James Whittico, MD

1940 2

1940: School of Nursing pamphlet

Page from a Homer G. Phillips Hospital School of Nursing pamphlet, circa 1940

1942

1942 1

1942: David Goldring, MD, sends Black infant to white ward

One evening, David Goldring, MD, is working in the Children’s Hospital Emergency Room when a Black infant is brought in needing an incubator. The Butler Ward is full, so Goldring sends the child to the white ward instead. Furious, the nursing supervisor calls pediatrics head Alexis Hartmann, MD, who backs…
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1945

1945 1

1945: Park J. White, MD, as Homer G. Phillips pediatric director

From 1945-1966, Park J. White, MD, a white pediatrician at Children’s Hospital, serves concurrently as the pediatric director at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. Image: Park J. White, MD

1946

1946 1

1946: Ridge Farm accepts first Black children

Ridge Farm, a Children’s Hospital facility for convalescent children, accepts its first three Black children.

1946 1

1946: SLCH board votes to desegregate hospital

A polio epidemic sweeps through St. Louis, flooding Children’s Hospital with patients. Alexis Hartmann, MD, repurposes the Blacks-only Butler Ward to serve the polio patients and relocates the Butler Ward patients throughout the hospital. Later that year, the Children’s Hospital board of managers votes to permanently desegregate the hospital.

1946 1

1946: Snack bar for “Black employees” opens

A snack bar opens in the basement of the McMillan Building. It was “especially for Black employees,” said neurologist William Landau, MD, in an oral history. “It was actually called the ‘Chocolate Shop,’ double entendre intended.” Image: Blueprint of McMillan Hospital dining areas, 1929

1946 6

1946: “Chocolate Shop” snack bar opens

Photos from the Barnes Record, July 10, 1953

1947

1947 1

1947: “Higher Education for American Democracy” report published

The report “Higher Education for American Democracy,” commissioned by President Harry S. Truman, recommends that “federal appropriations [should] be given only to those schools willing to comply” with desegregation. Washington University dissents, saying that the university “disagreed with any recommendation as to the immediate abandonment of segregation” and that dismantling…
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1947 1

1947: School of Medicine declares it’s desegregated

The Department of Ophthalmology at Washington University discovers it has inadvertently admitted a Black physician, James W. Nofles, MD, to its three-week postgraduate course. The School of Medicine decides to declare that the medical school is desegregated. Image: James W. Nofles, MD

1948

1948 1

1948: U.S. Supreme Court decides Shelley v. Kraemer

The U.S. Supreme Court decides Shelley v. Kraemer, which originated in St. Louis. The court rules that enforcing racially restrictive covenants is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

1949

1949 1

1949: Velma Murphy Jones begins nursing career at Barnes Hospital

Velma Murphy Jones, right, pictured in the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, February 1976

Velma Murphy Jones, a graduate of Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing, begins a decades-long career at Barnes Hospital, where she serves as the first Black nurse in charge of a nursing division. Image: Velma Murphy Jones, right, in the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, February 1976

1949 2

1949: Helen E. Nash, MD: First Black woman to join WUSM faculty

Helen E. Nash, MD, becomes the first Black woman to join the School of Medicine faculty and the first Black attending physician at Children’s Hospital, where she serves for more than 40 years. A trainee of Homer G. Phillips Hospital, she becomes a hugely impactful physician and mentor and establishes…
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1949 3

“The whole experience made me feel like an exotic animal. And I guess for women who had never seen an educated Black person, I was.”

— Helen E. Nash, MD

1949 4

1949: Ernest St. John Simms, Black researcher, joins WUSM staff

Ernest St. John Simms, a Black researcher, joins the medical school’s research staff, later contributing to the Nobel-Prize-winning research of Arthur Kornberg. Simms is named a research assistant professor in 1968, becoming the first Black person to hold a full-time academic appointment at the school, and is named an associate…
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1949 5

1949: First Black fellow, first Black male physicians join WUSM faculty

James Whittico, MD, is the first Black fellow in surgery. The first Black male physicians join the School of Medicine faculty: J. Owen Blache, MD, in pathology, George A. Gaikins, MD, in surgery and Edward B. Williams, MD, in internal medicine. Images: James Whittico, MD | J. Owen Blache, MD

1950

1950 2

1950: SLCH patients conversing

Two patients converse at St. Louis Children's Hospital, circa 1950.

1951

1951 1

1951: Evelyn Whitlock joins Jewish Hospital as medical records librarian

Evelyn Whitlock, a Black student who had attended Washington University, begins work as a medical records librarian at Jewish Hospital. Eventually, she becomes director of the medical records department, where she supervises 18 people, takes charge of all patient records, and installs computer systems to better process reports. “The day…
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1951 1

1951: Edgar R. Thomas: WUSM’s first Black medical student

Edgar R. Thomas becomes the first Black medical student at the School of Medicine but transfers after his first year, going on to earn a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in zoology from Washington University. Image: Edgar R. Thomas

1953

1953 1

1953: SLCH receives funds to expand pediatrics at Homer G. Phillips Hospital

The U.S. Children’s Bureau awards Alexis Hartmann, MD, of Children’s Hospital funding to establish an expanded pediatric residency at Homer G. Phillips Hospital under Helen Nash, MD; Park White, MD; and Neil Middelkamp, MD. They also receive funds to build a modern unit for premature babies at Homer G. Phillips.

1953 1

1953: Wanda Hall: First Black nursing school graduate

Wanda Hall is the first Black student to graduate from Washington University School of Nursing. She earns a master’s degree in 1953 and joins the faculty as an instructor in psychiatric nursing.

1953 1

1953: Bernard Becker, MD, fights for hospital integration

Bernard Becker, MD, a white physician, arrives at Barnes Hospital to head ophthalmology and is dismayed by the segregation he finds in McMillan Hospital. He threatens to leave unless integration occurs, and McMillan quickly desegregates. Later, he said: “I faced a good deal of opposition from my own visiting staff.…
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1953 4

“I had to keep at this. Whenever I turned my back, segregation was restored.”

— Bernard Becker, MD

1954

1954 1

1954: Jewish Hospital accepts Black patients on non-segregated basis

Jewish Hospital accepts Black patients on a non-segregated basis, becoming among the earliest private hospitals in the region to do so.

1954 1

1954: U.S. Supreme Court rules public school segregation unconstitutional

In a landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that segregation of children in public schools is unconstitutional, thus overturning the “separate but equal” ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. Chief Justice Earl Warren writes in his opinion: “Segregation of white and colored…
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1954 3

“We conclude that, in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, 1954

1955

1955 1

1955: Psychiatric hospital integrates

Renard Hospital, the psychiatric hospital, integrates after white psychiatrists Samuel Guze, MD, and George Winokur, MD, quietly begin admitting Black patients. Samuel B. Guze oral history audio recording available via Bernard Becker Medical Library Archives » Images: Samuel Guze, MD | George Winokur, MD

1955 1

1955: Homer E. Nash Jr., MD, joins SLCH medical staff

Homer E. Nash Jr., MD, was “a consummate educator and renowned clinician whose name is synonymous with compassionate care. … He was a constant advocate for his patients, and they adored him,” writes the St. Louis American, June 4, 2022.

Black pediatrician Homer E. Nash Jr., MD, joins the Children’s Hospital medical staff, after earning his medical degree at Meharry Medical College and performing residency training at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He dedicates his 46-year career to providing care to children in North St. Louis, many of them poor and…
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1958

1958 1

1958: Howard Phillip Venable, MD, joins WUSM faculty

A Black ophthalmologist, Howard Phillip Venable, MD, joins the School of Medicine faculty. Later, he is promoted to assistant clinical professor of ophthalmology. He is also a longtime physician at Homer G. Phillips Hospital and is director of ophthalmology there when the hospital closes in 1979. Howard Phillip Venable oral…
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1958 1

1958: Black surgeons given faculty status, hospital admitting privileges

Carl A. Moyer, MD, head of Washington University Surgery, gives faculty status or Barnes Hospital admitting privileges to Black Homer G. Phillips surgeons Frank Richards, MD, William Sinkler, MD, and others. “Dr. Moyer was a terrific guy, very interested in Homer Phillips. The only way I got into the St.…
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1958 1

1958: Jane Ervin: First Black nurse at SLCH

Jane Ervin becomes the first Black nurse at Children’s Hospital, working there for five years. Her husband, John B. Ervin, is the first Black dean on the Danforth Campus at Washington University.

1959

1959 1

1959: SLCH heart-lung pump patient

Heart-lung pump patient and her parents leave St. Louis Children’s Hospital after being discharged, April 1959.

1960

1960 1

1960s: Charles Carroll becomes leader, teacher for trainees

Charles Carroll, an Emergency Room orderly at Jewish Hospital, develops skills far beyond his job description. Generations of medical students and trainees learn from him. “As the years went by, my colleagues and I came to rely on Mr. Carroll. He could read X-rays way beyond our skills. It became…
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1960 2

1960s: Medical education remains segregated nationwide

Medical education is still segregated nationwide. Fewer than three percent of entering medical students are Black, and most of those are in two schools: Howard University College of Medicine and Meharry Medical College.

1960 3

Early 1960s: Medical students fed up with segregation

On one Christmas Eve, a group of medical students, fed up with segregation at Barnes Hospital, move beds around so that one ward “was like piano keys: Black, white, Black, white,” recalled Gerald Medoff, MD.

1962

1962 1

1962: James L. Sweatt III, MD: First Black WUSM graduate

James L. Sweatt III, MD, is the first Black person to graduate from the School of Medicine. He becomes a thoracic surgeon. In the December 2015 issue of Washington Magazine, Sweatt reflects on the admissions process: “I had the impression for years that it was routine for all the professors…
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1964

1964 1

1964: Civil Rights Act becomes law

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act into law. In 1965, he signs the Voting Rights Act and the Medicare and Medicaid Act, providing health insurance for the elderly and those of limited income.

1964 2

“In 1964, Barnes Hospital was recently integrated, and I was an intern, working with Dr. [Eugene] Bricker. He had a patient — a white man — who was scheduled for an operation. The patient said, ‘I’m not willing to be in this room with that person,’ pointing at the African American man in the other bed. ‘I’m not used to sharing a room with a Negro.’

“Dr. Bricker said, ‘You know, you’re absolutely right. You need a new room; in fact, you need a new hospital, and a new surgeon. I’ll call your referring doctor and tell him.’ He might as well have said that over the loudspeaker. It was astonishing because in those days there were testy moments. But Dr. Bricker was God, and as soon as he said that, integration was accomplished.”

— Bernard Jaffe, MD

1965

1965 1

ca 1965: Board of Trustees officially integrates Barnes Hospital

The Barnes Hospital Board of Trustees officially integrates the hospital. Its resolution explains: “RESOLVED, it is the policy of Barnes Hospital to operate without racial discrimination. This policy applies to persons served by Barnes, to its staff, and to membership on its governing board. Operating without discrimination means that: (1)…
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1965 2

“RESOLVED, it is the policy of Barnes Hospital to operate without racial discrimination.”

— Barnes Hospital Board of Trustees, April 27, 1965

1968

1968 1

1968: Dorinda Harmon establishes hospital’s first prenatal course

Barnes Hospital head nurse Dorinda Harmon establishes a prenatal course, the first of its kind for expectant parents at the hospital. Image: Dorinda Harmon

1968 1

1968: Third, fourth and fifth Black students enter WUSM

Washington University School of Medicine entering class of 1968

The third, fourth and fifth Black medical students enter the School of Medicine. Patrick Obaiya transfers, Julian Mosley graduates in 1972 and Karen Scruggs graduates in 1973. "Statistics show that medical graduates tend to practice in the area in which they go to school and train. … I wanted to…
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1969

1969 1

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.

1970

1970 1

1970: Aubrey R. Morrison, MD: First Black intern, chief resident and full professor

Aubrey R. Morrison, MD, in the laboratory, 1986

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…
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1971

1971 1

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.

1971 1

1971: WUSM exceeds national average of Black medical students

Washington University medical students, circa 1970

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

1972

1972 1

1972: Robert Lee, PhD, becomes assistant dean for minority student affairs

Robert Lee, PhD, speaks with four recently accepted medical students, 1988.

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.

1973

1973 1

1973: LaFrances Cockrell: First Black nurse to hold administrative responsibilities

LaFrances Cockrell, right, pictured in the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, December 1965

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

1976

1976 14

1976: Barnes Hospital, City of St. Louis name tennis courts in memory of Richard Hudlin

A group of people sit or stand with their backs to us, listening to a speaker in the background standing in front of outdoor tennis courts on a seemingly sunny day.

Barnes Hospital officials and the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department of the City of St. Louis dedicate tennis courts in memory of Richard Hudlin, a nationally prominent Black tennis coach and longtime teacher at Sumner High School who successfully sued St. Louis’s Muny Tennis Association to end segregation of the…
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1977

1977 1

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

1977 1

1977: Black surgeon Julian Mosley, MD, reflects on dealing with prejudice

Surgeon Julian Mosley, MD, examines a surgical patient, 1977.

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…
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1977 2

“It does hurt when good friends who are intelligent make inadvertent remarks which demonstrate that deep down they have an undercoating of ingrained prejudice.”

— Julian Mosley, MD, 1977

1978

1978 1

1978: Maternity Hospital building resegregates, then abandons policy

From the Barnes Hospital Bulletin, December 1978

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,…
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1979

1979 1

1979: City closes Homer G. Phillips Hospital

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.

1980

1980 1

1980: Animal facility renamed in honor of Henry L. Bramlette

Henry L. Bramlette pictured in Outlook magazine, Winter 1979

Henry L. Bramlette Animal Facilities: In 1948, Henry L. Bramlette, later known as “The Duke of McMillan,” came to work for the Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery and became a well-respected animal handler and technician, helping hundreds of scientists complete complex projects. Upon his retirement in 1980, the animal…
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1983

1983 1

1983: William E. Walden: First Black and Asian person to earn doctorate in DBBS

William E. Walden is the first Black and Asian person to earn a doctorate in the Roy and Diana Vagelos Division of Biology & Biomedical Sciences at Washington University.

1989

1989 1

1989: Calvin Weaver wins meritorious award

Calvin Weaver, who would become operations manager for all three housekeeping shifts at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, wins Jewish Hospital’s meritorious award for his service.

1993

1993 1

1993: Thelma Stocking retires

After 34 years as a surgical technologist at Barnes Hospital, Thelma Stocking retires. She had assisted Eugene Bricker, MD, with pelvic cancer surgeries and was a longtime scrub nurse for Richard Bradley, MD. “She was the stabilizing force in our OR. [Dr.] Willard Walker had both hands in a patient…
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1993 3

1993: Helen E. Nash, MD, retires

Helen E. Nash, MD, is revered for a decades-long career caring for generations of patients and advocating for the underserved. She retires as a Washington University emeritus professor in 1993 and serves as the school's dean of minority affairs from 1994-1996. “She fought to get the best care for her…
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1996

1996 1

1996: Dr. Helen E. Nash Academic Achievement Award established

The annual Dr. Helen E. Nash Academic Achievement Award is established at Washington University School of Medicine.

1996 1

1996: Will Ross, MD, MPH, becomes associate dean for diversity

Nephrologist Will Ross, MD, MPH, becomes associate dean for diversity at the School of Medicine and establishes the Office of Diversity Programs. Later the Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine, he institutes the Washington University Medical Plunge, a program for incoming medical students that includes a diversity retreat and visits to…
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1996 2

“By speaking out, we improve health care, and we uplift humanity.”

— Will Ross, MD, MPH

2001

2001 1

2001: Brian Phillips becomes executive director of WUMC Redevelopment Corporation

Brian Phillips becomes executive director of the Washington University Medical Center Redevelopment Corporation, which was founded in 1973 to expand the Medical Campus and to stabilize and revitalize its surrounding communities.

2003

2003 1

2003: Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH, receives $18.5 million grant

Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH, receives an $18.5 million grant — then the largest grant ever awarded to a pediatric faculty member at Washington University. With this funding, he heads an international, multicenter trial in sickle cell disease. In 2008, he becomes the Ferring Family Chair in Pediatric Cancer and…
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2006

2006 1

2006: Barnes-Jewish Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence is founded

The Barnes-Jewish Center for Diversity & Cultural Competence is founded with Brenda Battle appointed as its inaugural director, setting the stage for what would become the BJC Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Office of Community Health Improvement.

2008

2008 1

2008: Annual Norman E. Seay Lecture instituted

The Department of Neurology and Neurological Surgery institutes the annual Norman E. Seay Lecture, named for the Missouri civil rights leader.

2009

2009 1

2009: Beloved Betty Robinson dies

Upon the death of Betty Robinson, for decades a beloved surgical technician in urology, Gerald Andriole, MD, urology division chief, praises her “true wisdom, a rare combination of experience, intelligence and humanity.” The Betty Robinson Urology Residency Education Fund is named for her today.

2013

2013 1

2013: Washington University hires DEI education staff

Washington University hires Daniel Blash, PhD, and Denise DeCou to provide diversity and inclusion education to staff across Washington University.

2014

2014 1

2014: Kelvin Westbrook: First Black chair of BJC board

In early 2014, Kelvin Westbrook becomes the first Black chair of the BJC HealthCare board of directors. Image: Kelvin Westbrook

2014 1

2014: Arnold Bullock receives endowed professorship

Arnold Bullock, MD, urologist, receives the Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Distinguished Professorship within the Department of Surgery. Image: From left, Executive Vice Chancellor and Dean Larry J. Shapiro, Arnold Bullock, MD, and Chancellor Mark Wrighton, at Bullock’s endowed professorship installation ceremony, 2014

2014 1

2014: SLCH offers internship in honor of Helen E. Nash, MD

Children’s Hospital offers an internship to young Black women in honor of Helen E. Nash, MD.

2014 1

2014: Ferguson Uprising attracts national attention

In Ferguson, Missouri, protests and riots begin after the fatal police shooting of Black teenager Michael Brown. This period of unrest, known as the “Ferguson Uprising,” attracts national attention. At the School of Medicine, it spurs formation of the Senior Leadership Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. Credit: Washington University Photographic…
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2014 1

2014: “For the Sake of All” study published

A landmark study, “For the Sake of All,” is published by researchers from Washington University and Saint Louis University, focusing on the health and well-being of Black people in the St. Louis region. It highlights significant and persistent health disparities. “Where you live in St. Louis has a powerful impact…
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2014 5

“Where you live in St. Louis has a powerful impact on your health. Residents of ZIP codes separated by only a few miles have up to an 18-year difference in life expectancy.”

— “For the Sake of All” report, 2014

2015

2015 1

2015: Sarah K. England, PhD: First Black female endowed professor

Sarah K. England, PhD, is the first Black woman to be an endowed professor at the School of Medicine. She is the inaugural Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Medicine. Image: Sarah K. England, PhD

2017

2017 1

2017: Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, FAAN: First Black vice president at BJH

Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, FAAN, becomes the first Black leader to serve as Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s vice president and chief nursing executive — also a first within the BJC HealthCare system. Image: Angelleen Peters-Lewis, PhD, RN, FAAN

2018

2018 1

2018: Sherree A. Wilson, PhD: Inaugural associate vice chancellor of diversity

Sherree A. Wilson, PhD, becomes the inaugural associate vice chancellor and associate dean of diversity and head of the newly established Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Image: Sherree A. Wilson, PhD

2020

2020 1

2020: Students organize White Coats for Black Lives demonstration

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis, students organize a White Coats for Black Lives demonstration along Kingshighway Boulevard on campus, June 5, 2020. Thousands of faculty, students and staff raise their voices, insisting racism is a pandemic, too.

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2020: Dineo Khabele, MD: First Black person to head WUSM department

Dineo Khabele, MD, a leading gynecological oncologist, becomes the first Black person to head a School of Medicine department when she is named chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Image: Dineo Khabele, MD

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2020: Steven Player, PharmD, MBA, CDM: Inaugural VP for DEI

At BJC HealthCare, Steven Player, PharmD, MBA, CDM, becomes the inaugural vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion. He develops the BESt Healthcare Institute, which prepares local students for careers in health care. Image: Steven Player, PharmD, MBA, CDM

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2020: Jason Purnell, PhD, MPH: Inaugural VP of Community Health Improvement

Jason Purnell, PhD, MPH, becomes inaugural vice president of community health improvement at BJC HealthCare. Image: Jason Purnell, PhD, MPH

2021

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2021: Samuel I. Achilefu, PhD, receives major NIH grant

Samuel I. Achilefu, PhD, the Michel M. Ter-Pogossian Professor of Radiology, receives a major NIH grant for his work on developing imaging goggles for fluorescence-guided surgery. In the same year, he is elected to the prestigious National Academy of Medicine. Image: Samuel I. Achilefu, PhD

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2021: WUSM releases Commitment to Anti-Racism

The School of Medicine releases a “Commitment to Anti-Racism” statement, articulating the school’s intent to address systemic disparities across its missions of education, research and patient care. “There are current structures, practices, and policies within our own healthcare, research, and education systems and institution that are directly in conflict with…
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“It is our duty to identify and rectify these systemic inequities. We commit to a culture of trying, because change is hard, and conflicts will arise.”

— Excerpt from the School of Medicine’s Commitment to Anti-Racism, 2021

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2021: Opeolu M. Adeoye, MD: First Black person to lead newly formed WUSM department

Opeolu M. Adeoye, MD, becomes the first Black person to lead a newly formed department at the School of Medicine when he is named head of the new Department of Emergency Medicine. He is also the inaugural BJC HealthCare Distinguished Professor of Emergency Medicine. Image: Opeolu M. Adeoye, MD

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2021: Velma Hunt retires

Velma Hunt, a longtime Children’s Hospital employee, retires after more than 60 years of service as a patient liaison in the emergency room. Image: Velma Hunt, right

2022

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2022: WUSM street re-christened “Nash Way”

A street on the Medical Campus is re-christened “Nash Way” in honor of distinguished Black sister-and-brother pediatricians, Helen E. Nash, MD, and Homer E. Nash Jr., MD. Image: A plaque on the south wall of the Eric P. Newman Education Center commemorates the naming of Nash Way.

2023

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2023: Becker Medical Library unveils “In Their Own Words” exhibit

Bernard Becker Medical Library unveils a temporary exhibit entitled "In Their Own Words: Stories of Desegregation at Washington University Medical Center." Drawing on oral histories, photographs, architectural plans and other documents, the exhibit features stories from doctors, nurses, students and administrators who experienced segregation and advocated for change. The full…
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“It is vital to recognize the injustices of the past and to acknowledge that their impact still resonates today. We cannot erase that past, but we can and do commit to ensuring that our BJC HealthCare institutions are welcoming and inclusive for our employees and patients, and that we provide the highest quality of care to all members of our community.”

— Rich Liekweg, president and CEO, BJC HealthCare

2024

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2024: WUSM receives NADOHE Institutional Excellence Award

The School of Medicine receives the 2024 NADOHE Institutional Excellence Award: Professional Degree Granting Institution for demonstrating measurable progress in promoting and sustaining innovative diversity efforts within the campus community. NADOHE is the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education. Image: David Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical…
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A continuing story

As we examine and reveal our past, we lay bare the ugliness, the struggle and the pain. We also honor the courage and determination of those who have guided Washington University School of Medicine, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and St. Louis Children’s Hospital toward justice.

We recognize that the harms of the past are still alive and that our journey is ongoing as we pursue equity in all our missions. We commit to achieving that equity, for the betterment of our community and the wider world that we serve.

We know what success requires: transparency, intentionality, compassion, vigilance, accountability and reconciliation. And we know that we will achieve that success, together.