February 8, 1794: Dr. James Derham and the Radical Emergence of Black Medical Authority in Early America
On February 8, 1794, Dr. James Derham stood as a powerful testament to Black intellectual and professional excellence in early America. As the first recognized African American physician, Derham’s rise from enslavement to medical authority challenged the racial hierarchies of his time and marked a radical assertion of Black expertise within a nation still defined by bondage.