Medical Jim Crow in Washington State, 1900-1950: The Isolated Professional Lineage of Nine Black Physicians

This regional study examines the effects of Washington state’s medical licensing laws on the licensing of Black physicians in the state between 1900 to 1950. Black physicians and students were excluded from medical schools, internships, residencies, and professional associations nationwide during the same period. This study reconstructs the biographies of the nine Black physicians licensed in Washington state during the first half of the twentieth century. By drawing on legal history and archival materials, such as contemporary newspaper accounts, personal correspondence, medical license applications, and school records, these physician’s stories reveal racial discrimination and exclusion, and they illustrate the varied ways racially based professional barriers were confronted and navigated. These stories highlight how racial exclusion shaped opportunities in medicine while highlighting the contributions of these early physicians. This study contributes to the gap in the historical literature concerning Black professionals in Washington state, and it provides insight into racial exclusion and professional survival in the state’s medical history.