CCMS. "Pictured from left to right in 1965; Walter White, D.D.S.*, Randle Pollard, M.D., George Hillard, M.D.*, William Finlayson, M.D. OBGYN, and Gerald Poindexter, M.D. " 2021 https://milwaukeetimesnews.com/health-fitness-exercise-weight-loss-eating-right/the-history-of-the-cream-city-medical-society
Cream City Medical Society
The Cream City Medical Society was established in Milwaukee in 1927 under the leadership of Dr. Richard Herron. Dr. Herron was the son of Milwaukee’s first African American physician, Dr. Allen L. Herron who was born in Marshall, Texas in 1865. The Cream City Medical Society (CCMS) is the first and only Milwaukee based organization of African American doctoral-level health care specialists. It is a chartered chapter of the National Medical Association, the nation’s oldest and largest association established in 1895 that represents African American physicians and the health care concerns of African Americans or other peoples of color.
Dr. Allen graduated from Howard Medical School in 1892. He established a practice at the former Milwaukee Hospital, currently apartment buildings. According to the 1900 census, he was the only African American physician practicing in Milwaukee when he set up his practice. Between 1920 and 1930 there were five African American physicians and dentists practicing in Milwaukee. To relate it back to the Green Book, Dr. Edgar Thomas was one. He became one of the founding members of CCMS along with Dr. Prather Gilmer, and Mr. Oden H. Fiesher, another pharmacist. Together they established the Community Drug Store, on the corner of 7th and Cherry Streets. Community Drug Store, which later moved to 440 W. Galena Street, was the first retail drug store to be owned and operated by African Americans. Dr. Thomas served terms as president of the local NAACP chapter. He was Wisconsin’s first African American pharmacist. Dr. Thomas had a son named Jay who established the predecessor to the present day Isaac Coggs Heritage Health Center. Dr. Gilmer was also a physician and a pharmacist, and graduated from the University of Pittsburg Medical School, before arriving in Milwaukee in 1923. He was also a columnist for the Blade, a local African American newspaper. He worked for Dr. Thomas as a pharmacist. Losing these practices, the buildings housing them, and the original building housing the Community Drug Store was a net loss for the city of Milwaukee’s historical knowledge about residents of note, as well as the local history of the community, but Dr. Thomas’s story, as well as the overall story of people involved with the Cream City Medical Society, shows just how many hidden treasures were formerly stationed on W. Galena Street. |
Wisconsin Historical Society. "Milwaukee County Hospital postcard" circa 1943. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM53948
Cream City Medical Society. "Dr. Kevin Izard President" 2021https://www.ccmsmke.org/about-1
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