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Article: News and Views: Falling Off the Cliff; The Severe Drop in Black Medical School Enrollments
- Article from:
- The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
- Article date:
- January 31, 2002
CopyrightCopyright CH II Publishers, Inc. Jan 31, 2002. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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The ancient Greeks created the myth of Sisyphus. Condemned to Hades, Sisyphus was forced to eternally roll a large stone to the top of a hill. Whenever he neared his goal, the burden became too great and the stone rolled him back to where he started.
The Sisyphus myth always reminds us that for blacks in higher education progress and setbacks invariably follow one another. A classic example is the straggle of African Americans for a greater presence in the profession of medicine.
In 1837 James McCune Smith of New York City was the first African American to earn a medical degree. Rejected for admission to any academically respected undergraduate college or university in the United States, ...