February 7, 2018 The Skanner Portland Page 7
Black History
Black History Month Recognizes Prominent African American Veterinarians
I
n honor of Black Histo-
ry month, I will recog-
nize the contributions
of African American
veterinarians. These in-
dividuals paved the way
for veterinarians of col-
or like myself. Without
their commitment to
the field and endurance
in the face of adversity,
many people of color
would not be able to live
out their dream practic-
ing veterinary medicine.
More than 70 percent
of African American
veterinarians in the
United States graduated
from Tuskegee Universi-
ty School of Veterinary
Medicine in Tuskegee,
Alabama.
Established in 1945 by
Dr. Frederick D. Patter-
son, Tuskegee remains
the only historically
Black college campus
with a veterinary medi-
cine program.
Dr. Frederick D.
Patterson
Dr. Patterson is one
of the most influential
Black veterinarians in
United States history.
He earned his Doctorate
PHOTO COURTESY OF TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY
By Jasmine Streeter, DVM
Special to The Skanner
News
Dr. Streeter and her dog Sheba
Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, 3rd
President of Tuskegee Institute,
founder of Tuskegee University
School of Veterinary Medicine
and the United Negro College
Fund
of Veterinary Medicine
(D.V.M.) from Iowa State
University and Doctor-
ate of Philosophy from
Cornell University.
“
[Dr. Patter-
son] coined
the phrase
‘A mind is
a terrible
thing to
waste’
He became the third
president of Tuskegee
Institute in 1935 and es-
tablished the United Ne-
gro College Fund in 1944.
He coined the phrase “A
mind is a terrible thing
to waste”.
In 1987, he was awarded
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom.
Dr. Michael Blackwell
Other notable veteri-
narians include Dr. Mi-
chael Blackwell, Tuske-
gee University graduate
with a D.V.M in 1975. He
attained the rank of As-
sistant Surgeon General
of the Public Health Ser-
vice in 2000.
Dr. Ruby Perry
Phenomenal
women
like Dr. Ruby Perry, a
graduate of Tuskegee
University, made history
as the first Black female
board-certified veteri-
nary radiologist. She is
currently the Dean of
Tuskegee College of Vet-
erinary Medicine and
one the greatest teachers
I ever had in veterinary
school.
Dr. Debbye Turner
Another great, Dr.
Debbye Turner, showed
that beauty and brains
do exist. Dr. Turner was
crowned Miss America
in 1990 and graduated
from the University of
Missouri-Columbia with
a D.V.M. in 1991.
This past January, I
made history as the first
African American to
become president of the
Oregon Branch of the
American Association
for Laboratory Animal
Science.
In the Media
Veterinarians of col-
or are also taking media
and business by storm.
“The Vet Life” TV series
on Animal Planet made
history as the first do-
cu-series in 2016 follow-
ing the lives of African
American veterinarians:
Dr. Diarra Blue, Dr. Au-
brey Ross and Dr. Mi-
chael Lavigne. They live
in Houston, Texas and
opened Cy-Fair Animal
Hospital to educate the
public on the importance
of preventive medicine
while providing the best
care to their patients.
Each earned his doctor-
ate of veterinary medi-
cine from Tuskegee Uni-
versity.
Inventor
Dr. Joe J. Owens, III, an
inventor and veterinary
graduate from Tuskegee
in 2012, recently creat-
ed Enjoy-A-Bowl, a bowl
that uses human food to
encourage picky pets to
eat their food. Dr. Owens
helps to create happy,
healthy pets.
Overall, people of col-
or are making leaps and
bounds in the veterinary
field, but we still have a
long way to go. Accord-
ing to Data USA, in 2015,
there were almost 67,000
practicing veterinarians
in the United States. Ap-
proximately 1.7 percent
of veterinarians were
African American, indi-
cating a severe shortage
in diversity.
My hope is that in the
coming years through
education and exposure,
more African Americans
will enter the wonderful
profession of veterinary
medicine.
Ask Dr. Jasmine your pet
question at drjasmine@
theskanner.com.
Make The Skanner
part of your daily routine