The first African American to earn a medical degree, James McCune Smith was a leader black intellectual, counting friends like Frederick Douglass and Henry Highland Garnet. He was known for both his scientific knowledge and his reformist activities during his lifetime and wrote extensively for Douglass' newspaper.

However, today most are unfamiliar with Smith or his accomplishments. So this week, I am focusing on Dr. James McCune Smith. Who was he? And why don't know we know more about him?

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