Black Veterinarians in History

The history of veterinary medicine in the United States (and abroad) could not be written without talking about the contributions of Black veterinarians.

Formal veterinary education was slow to establish a foothold in the U.S., and Dr. Augustus Nathaniel Lushington was a true pioneer, becoming the first Black graduate of veterinary school in the U.S. when he moved from Trinidad to the U.S. and graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1987. Dr. Henry Stockton Lewis quickly followed, as the first American-born Black graduate of veterinary school, from Harvard, in 1889. He went on to an illustrious career in private practice in Massachusetts, and served on the very first veterinary regulatory board in the country!

Their graduation did not open the floodgates, but slowly, more schools began to admit Black veterinarians. Dr. John Baxter Taylor, Jr graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1908, and also won an Olympic gold medal as part of the US men’s 1 mile relay team in London that same year—the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal!

There started to be a shift when Dr. Edward B Evans graduated from Iowa State College (now University) veterinary school in 1918, and became the first African American veterinarian to be licensed in the state of Texas. He served on the faculty of the HBCU Prairie View A&M, and then as the first Dean of the Tuskegee Institute (now University) School of Veterinary Medicine in 1945—helping to establish one of the most storied veterinary educational programs in the country.

Dr. Frederick Douglass Patterson, on prodding from his teacher and friend Dr. Evans, went to vet school at Iowa State College where he obtained both his DVM and Masters in 1923. He then went to Cornell and earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Veterinary Pathology. From there, he taught veterinary medicine at Virginia State College, while serving as the Director of the Department of Agriculture. In 1935, he became the third president of the Tuskegee Institute, and was instrumental in the development of several key programs including the famous Tuskegee School of Aviation. Together with his friend Dr. Evans, he founded the Tuskegee Institute (University) School of Veterinary Medicine in 1945, which has gone on to graduate over 75% of Black veterinarians in the United States. Under his leadership, the program at Tuskegee was so superior that Alabama paid to have white students attend—unheard of in the segregated South of the time. Dr. Patterson also was the founder of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), which administers 10,000 scholarships every year. He served on President Truman’s Commission on Higher Education, and in 1987 received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Reagan in recognition of his lifetime service to education.

Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb was one of the early students at Tuskegee Institute School of Veterinary Medicine, graduating in 1949—one of the first two Black women veterinarians in the U.S. and the first Black woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine. She went on to follow in Dr. Patterson’s legacy, teaching at Tuskegee and also at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She was a member of the planning committee that founded North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine. From there, she eventually went into politics, becoming the first African American woman to serve on the North Carolina General Assembly.

Dr. Jane Hinton graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine the same year as Dr. Johnson Webb. She was a pioneer in the study of antibiotic resistance, co-developing the Mueller-Hinton agar plates that are still used to determine bacterial sensitivity to antibiotics. She worked as a researcher at Harvard, an inspector with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in private practice as a small animal veterinarian in Massachusetts.

Tuskegee’s impact on advances in veterinary medicine continued, when it hired Dr. Lloyd Mobiley, a 1938 Kansas State graduate. Dr. Mobiley was an officer in the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps in World War II, and when he returned home Tuskegee appointed him the head of the Anatomy Department. While there, he introduced the use of intramedullary pins and other fixation in long-bone fractures in animals—a technique that continues to be a mainstay of fracture repair today.

Dr. Iverson Bell graduated from Michigan State University with a DVM in 1949. He went on to serve on the faculty at Tuskegee School of Veterinary Medicine, and became the first Black vice president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 1971. Dr. Bell was a notable community leader, and was offered the ambassadorship to Nigeria by President Kennedy. His legacy lives on in the AAVMC Iverson Bell award, given to individuals who promote diversity and inclusion in the veterinary field.

This is but a small sampling of the vital Black members of the veterinary community. Sadly, this profession continues to struggle with diversity, with only 2.1% of veterinarians being Black to this day. Looking at the amazing contributions of the handful of people listed here, we can only wonder how strong and vibrant the profession might be when we become more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Please join us in honoring the legacy of these pioneers.