In 1972, Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp became the first African American woman to graduate from the Emory School of Medicine. Forty-eight years later, she would hold the title of chief of the developmental disabilities branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and would deliver the 16th annual Hamilton E. Holmes Memorial Lecture at her alma mater.
Around 75 members of the Emory community attended Yeargin-Allsopp’s talk, in which she discussed former Associate Dean of the School of Medicine Hamilton E. Holmes (67M, 76MR), “a trailblazer, influencer and true inspiration.”
The lecture, titled “The Legacy of Hamilton E. Holmes,” was hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Dean of the School of Medicine Vikas P. Sukhatme. Yeargin-Allsopp, who was the first African American student to graduate from Sweet Briar College (Va.) in 1968, described Holmes’ experiences as the first African American student to graduate from the School of Medicine in 1967.
Yeargin-Allsopp spoke on her experiences as an African American woman at the School of Medicine, categorizing them as more positive than she expected “given the circumstances” and her prior experiences at Sweet Briar. She recalled her friendship with the three other African American students in her class, and recounted their pledge: “if one of [them] makes it, then all of [them] would make it.”
Holmes, along with journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault, was the first of two African American students admitted to the University of Georgia (UGA) in 1961. Yeargin-Allsopp recounted Holmes’ collegiate years at UGA as what he allegedly described as “some pretty bad times.”
“We can only imagine what some of his experiences at UGA were like,” Yeargin-Allsopp said. “It was no accident that he achieved what he achieved.”
Yeargin-Allsopp attributed two factors to what she called the “Hamilton Holmes Model of success” to two factors: strong family ties and different educational opportunities. She believed that both facets improved Holmes’ quality of life.
Sukhatme echoed Yeargin-Allsopp’s sentiments about Holmes’ legacy during his introductions, adding that Holmes “changed the world around him.” Yeargin-Allsopp later went on to note former Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s lines, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever,” a statement he later revoked in 1991.
Yeargin-Allsopp questioned whether the days of racial segregation were indeed over and if the current quality of life for African American children are any better than they were during Holmes’ time, citing statistics which show that the “2-to-1 African American to white ratio for infant mortality seen in the 1940s has persisted.”
“In 2017, the infant mortality rate in African American infants was 11 per 1,000 live births compared to 4.7 in white infants,” Yeargin-Allsopp said.
Racial inequalities in maternal and infant mortality rates remain constant across education levels and socioeconomic status, she maintained. She cited tennis player Serena Williams as an example of an African American woman who, despite being “wealthy and remarkably powerful,” nearly died from pregnancy-related complications in September 2017.
Yeargin-Allsopp also cited a paper published by the Federal Reserve System which showed that income and wealth disparity between African American and white households has not reduced over the past 70 years. She also said that education policymakers emphasize racially homogenous communities with African American students more than integration. A study that Yeargin-Allsopp quoted found that African American students in desegregated school systems had higher income, better jobs, less incarceration and better long-term physical health.
“Regardless of these dismal and somewhat discouraging statistics, … I am really optimistic and believe that the Hamilton E. Holmes legacy lives on in each one of you,” Yeargin-Allsopp said. “I think he would be proud of you. [Holmes] was the right man at the right time.”
Previous speakers at the lecture series have included former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young and advocate for women’s health issues and physician Vivian Pinn.
