Today marks the start of #BlackHistoryMonth and we wanted to start it off by telling you a bit about UofG alumnus James McCune Smith - the first African American to be awarded a medical degree anywhere in the world #UofGBHM20

James McCune Smith was born into slavery in 1813 in New York City. Despite being intellectually brilliant, he was denied entry to American universities due to his race. So he came to Scotland to study at the University of Glasgow.

Dr Smith earned three degrees at UofG, returned to New York in 1837 to open his own medical practice and pharmacy (the first African American owned and operated pharmacy in America) and became a leading figure for black civil rights and the abolitionist movement.

The flagship building in our major campus development, the £90m James McCune Smith Learning Hub standing proudly on University Avenue is named in Dr Smith's honour. The building is expected to open early 2021 and you can find out more here
https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/campusdevelopment/jamesmccunesmithlearninghub

The naming of the James McCune Smith Learning Hub is one of the resulting recommendations from our major investigation into the University's links to historical slavery, published in 2018. Find out more https://twitter.com/UofGlasgow/status/1048831541051367424?s=20

"Hearing Dr Smith's story of being born into slavery, then travelling to UofG to pursue education, made me think if he can do that I can do anything!" - @iiiglasgow PhD student Kristyn Carter explains how James McCune Smith inspired her to study at UofG

If you fancy a look around, the @GUSRC took a tour of the James McCune Smith Learning Hub back in Feb 2020

Another way we're continuing Dr Smith's legacy is through the annual James McCune Smith Memorial Lecture. This year the lecture is being delivered by Director of @UCL's Prof Matthew J. Smith on 29th October and you can book a place
https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/blackhistorymonth/index.html/event/11848

Throughout #BlackHistoryMonth we'll be showcasing some of the work, research and teaching at UofG relating to black history and highlighting the various events we're holding. Visit our events pages to get involved
https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/blackhistorymonth/

#UofGBHM20

Dr Smith's legacy is being carried on by our students every day and we offer James McCune Smith scholarships to support new undergraduate students of African-Caribbean descent as they pursue their own world-changing ambitions

James McCune Smith was - and continues to be through his legacy - a true #UofGWorldChanger

You can find out more about his biography on our University Story site https://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH24115&type=P&o=&start=0&max=20&l=