The Meeting

Abstract

A group of black physicians whose request to attend educational programs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center had been rebuffed by the school's second dean played a central role in helping UMMC survive a federal investigation for non-compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Unknown to Dean Robert Marston, these physicians had been active in civil rights activities at both state and national levels and were in dialogue with federal civil rights agencies and with the NAACP who filed the complaint against UMMC. Marston called on them as part of a marathon of preparation for the inspection, and they assisted him in achieving an improbable outcome, a finding of compliance. In the process, Marston developed a positive relationship and ongoing dialogue with these black physicians and realized their value to Mississippi. In turn, they elected him to membership in the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Society.