In 1875, Meharry, together with four of his brothers, donated a total of $15,000 to assist with establishing a medical department at (CTC), a historically black college in Nashville, Tennessee. The president, John Braden, approached Samuel Meharry to discuss the proposal. Students at Central Tennessee College (CTC) approached the college president about setting up a medical school in 1875. Meharry reportedly told the former slave family, "I have no money, but when I can I shall do something for your race." As a young trader, Meharry had been aided by a family of freedmen, whose names are unknown. After achieving some success, he and four of his brothers later made a major donation to help establish the college. The college was named for Samuel Meharry, a young Irish American immigrant who first worked as a salt trader on the Kentucky- Tennessee frontier.
To combat this shortage of health care and the lack of accessibility to medical education, individuals, such as Samuel Meharry, and organizations, such as the Medical Association of Colored Physicians, Surgeons, Dentists, and Pharmacists (later renamed the National Medical Association), helped to found medical schools specifically for African Americans. During the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, most medical institutions accepted few, if any, African-American students. In the common segregation, most hospitals would not admit African Americans and many white physicians often chose not to serve freedmen. These schools were founded after the end of the Civil War when slaves had been freed and there were as yet few African-American physicians, and many freedmen in need of health care. Meharry Medical College was one of six medical institutions established between the years of 18 in the state of Tennessee. Ĭentral Tennessee College (CTC), with Meharry Medical College inset in top right corner, 1895. School training emphasizes recognizing health disparities in different populations. Around 76% of graduates of the school work as doctors treating people in underserved communities. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved is a public health journal owned by and edited at Meharry Medical College. It has the highest percentage of African Americans graduating with Ph.Ds in the biomedical sciences in the country. Meharry is the second-largest educator of African-American medical doctors and dentists in the United States. The degrees that Meharry offers include Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.), Master of Health Science (M.H.S.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. West Basic Sciences Center, and the Metropolitan General Hospital of Nashville-Davidson County. Meharry Medical College includes its School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, a School of Allied Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies and Research, the Harold R. In the early 21st century, it has become the largest private historically black institution in the United States solely dedicated to educating health care professionals and scientists. Meharry Medical College was chartered separately in 1915. This region had the highest proportion of this ethnicity, but they were excluded from many public and private segregated institutions of higher education, particularly after the end of Reconstruction.
Founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College, it was the first medical school for African Americans in the South. Meharry Medical College is a historically black medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Tennessee.