Rebecca Lee Crumpler, MD, was the first Black woman in the United States to earn a medical degree. She earned her degree from the New England Female Medical College in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1864. While hostility toward Black physicians was common in the postwar South, she built a network to give care back to Black communities. As part of her work, Dr. Crumpler served to treat formerly enslaved people through the Freedmen’s Bureau. Her legacy is documented in her authored book titled “A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts”, which details women’s and children’s health and shares her experiences as a Black woman physician. Learn more about Dr. Crumpler and other African-American medical pioneers from the AAMC.