[Three Group Photographs of Students at Meharry Medical College]

Nashville, Tennessee: Geo. H. Anderson, 1923. Good. Three black and white photographs, each measuring 8" x 10" on card mounts measuring 11 ½" x 13 ½". Photos very good with a few minor surface abrasions and one small stain in the background of one photo; mounts good with moderate wear, chipping and a bit wavy.

This is a group of three spectacular photographs by a prolific Black photographer in Nashville which showcases Meharry Medical College's [MMC] pharmacy school graduating class of 1923, as well as the members of its Phi Beta Sigma chapter. MMC was the first medical school for African Americans in the South when it was founded in 1876 as the Medical Department of Central Tennessee College. The school was chartered separately in 1915 and in the early 21st century became the largest HBCU devoted solely to educating scientists and healthcare professionals.

The 1923 graduating class was Meharry's largest to that point with 198 degrees conferred and 20 of them going to women. While we cannot locate the names of the graduating students, thanks to contemporary news accounts, we know the students shown here are from the School of Pharmacy, and two of those graduates are women. The other photo shows the men of the Meharry's Beta Phi Sigma chapter, a group that is still active today.

The year 1923 was very important to Meharry as it received an "A" rating from the American Medical Association after [years of struggling?. According to the University of Richmond's History Engine website, the AMA adopted standards for medical education in 1904 that made it nearly impossible for African American schools to obtain an A rating: school like Meharry could not cover the increased cost of operation while complying with new standards. By 1923, the AMA's grading system rendered all but two African American medical schools unsatisfactory, but Meharry managed to receive its A rating that year, in part due to a donation from the Carnegie foundation. The AMA accreditation was announced at graduation and was met with a five minute standing ovation.

The African American photographer, George H. Anderson, was prolific and well known in Nashville. Anderson's credit is seen in publications from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial State Teachers College and he had a studio located at 417 Cedar Street (now Charlotte Avenue) in the heart of the African American downtown business district in Nashville from 1912 to 1951.

Wonderful images of students at Meharryby an important Black photographer and taken in a critical year for the school's accredidation. Google and OCLC searches reveal nothing similar.