Susan Smith McKinney Steward was born into a prosperous free Black family in Brooklyn, New York, and pursued education relentlessly, eventually enrolling at the New York Medical College for Women, one of the few institutions of the era open to women pursuing medical degrees.
In 1870, Steward earned her medical degree, becoming the third Black woman in United States history to become a physician, following Rebecca Lee Crumpler and Rebecca Cole. She graduated as valedictorian of her class, an unusual achievement given the barriers she faced.
Steward built a distinguished four-decade medical career in Brooklyn, specialising in the treatment of women and children, and co-founded the Brooklyn Women's Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary, later also establishing a nursing school to train the next generation of Black medical professionals.
Beyond her medical practice, Steward was active in women's rights and temperance movements, and later in life married a chaplain and moved to Wilberforce, Ohio, where she continued practising medicine at Wilberforce University until shortly before her death in 1918.
- Third Black woman physician in United States history (1870)
- Graduated valedictorian of her medical school class
- Co-founded the Brooklyn Women's Homeopathic Hospital and Dispensary
- Established a nursing school training Black medical professionals
- Built a distinguished four-decade medical career specialising in women and children
- Firsts can occur even in already-competitive fields. Being the third Black woman physician still required overcoming enormous structural barriers.
- Institution-building multiplies individual impact. Her hospital and nursing school extended her influence far beyond her personal practice.
- Excellence can be demonstrated decisively. Graduating valedictorian left no ambiguity about her medical capability.
- A career can combine clinical work with broader advocacy. Her medical practice ran alongside sustained women's rights activism.