Dr Susan McKinney example essay topic

History 2381 Tues-Thurs Professor P Dr. Susan McKinney Born Susan Maria Smith in March of 1847, she was of mixed European, African, and Shinnecock Indian ancestry, the seventh of ten children by Sylvanus and Ann S. Smith. Both of whom were active in civic affairs and members of the Brooklyn black elite. Dr. Susan McKinney entered the New York Medical College for Women in 1867, graduating three years later as class valedictorian. She was the first black female to practice medicine in New York State, and the third in the nation. No other female doctors equaled her in social or medical prominence. There are several possible explanations for McKinney's career choice.

It's possible she may have been shocked by the deaths of her two brothers during the Civil War. Also, during 1866, Brooklyn had a death rate that was skyrocketing because of a cholera epidemic. She also attended to her sick niece for a while, which also could have convinced her to become a medical practitioner. Either way, her decision to get a medical degree in an era when ladies, especially African American women, remained at home or in teaching positions, shows her pride and drive to excel at all things. Dr. McKinney has had numerous professional and personal achievements. Among being the first female to practice medicine in New York State, she also was active in the Kings County Homeopathic Medical Society and the Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York.

She also presented two important medical papers to both of these societies. As well as having a full medical practice and making surgical rounds, Dr. McKinney still found time to be a community activist. She was active in missionary work at the Bridge Street Church, and she was a devout supporter of female suffrage. Dr. Susan McKinney was also a close friend of Clarence Sophia Lower, founder of the medical college she attended and wealthy abolitionist, who was her mentor until his death in 1888. The New York Sun, in an 1887 feature on wealthy black New Yorkers, described her as someone who had "a handsome bank account and lives well". In 1895, the New York Times describes her Brooklyn address as being "in the midst of the fashionable quarter of the hill".

Despite her achievements, New York area newspapers chose not to print her valedictory. One newspaper did write about the event, but the reporter focused only on her hair and choice of clothing, going as far as to say that her "modest attire" was a "good sign of improvement of the African race". Dr. Susan McKinney left a great legacy behind her, which was passed on, to her two children from her first marriage. Her first husband William G. McKinney died in 1892. Later, she married Theophilus Gould Steward, chaplain of the Twenty-fifth US Colored Infantry, known as "Buffalo Soldiers". Susan traveled to various forts where she treated many African American soldiers.

When Susan McKinney Steward died on March 7, 1918, W.E.B. DuBois delivered the eulogy. She is buried in Brooklyn's Greenwood Cemetery. Through the persistence of her grandson, the board of education renamed a Brooklyn junior high school the Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Junior High School in 1974. Black female doctors in the New York / New Jersey area have also honored her memory by naming their medical society after her..