Day 20: Celebrating 29-Days Of Black History In Brooklyn

On Day 20 of Black History Month we recognize Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward.

Susan Marie Smith, who was the first female black to become a physician in New York State, was born in Weeksville on March 18, 1847. Weeksville was a free and progressive Brooklyn community of African Americans established eleven years after New York State Emancipation in 1827. The area was named after James Weeks who purchased land in 1838. Weeksville stretched from Fulton Street to Ralph Avenue to East New York Avenue to Troy Avenue.

Sylvanus Smith, Susan’s father, owned and managed a pork farm located at the corner of Fulton Street and Buffalo Avenue. Her mother, Anne Smith, was part Shinnecock. Anne Smith gave birth to eleven babies; Susan was number seven. At a young age, Susan learned to play the organ. She became part of the music ministry at Siloam Presbyterian and Bridge Street A.M.E. Churches in Brooklyn.
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At twenty she began attending the New York Medical College for Women in Manhattan. Dr. Smith graduated as valedictorian in 1870. She practiced medicine from two offices, one in Manhattan and the other on DeKalb Avenue in Brooklyn. She founded the Women’s Hospital and Dispensary which was located at 808 Prospect Place and Nostrand Avenue. She served as physician and board member for the Brooklyn Home for Aged Colored People on St. John’s Place at the corner of Kingston Avenue.

Here in Brooklyn we honor this amazing pioneer and her many significant contributions everyday. Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts is located at 101 Park Avenue in Fort Greene. For more information on Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward and the free and successful African American community of Weeksville click here.