---
title: "Morehouse — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Morehouse is an HBCU whose medical school trained Black physicians shut out of the AMA and white institutions. Key to Topic 4.20 on Black medical institution-building."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/morehouse"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Morehouse — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Morehouse is a historically Black college (HBCU) in Atlanta whose School of Medicine, founded in 1975, trained African American physicians who were excluded from the American Medical Association and mainstream medical schools, an example of Black medical institution-building in AP African American Studies Topic 4.20.

## What It Is

Morehouse is a historically Black college in Atlanta, and in [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") it shows up specifically because of the **Morehouse School of Medicine**. For most of American history, white medical schools refused to admit Black applicants and the American Medical Association barred Black physicians from membership. African Americans responded by building their own pipeline. They founded medical schools at HBCUs ([Howard University](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/howard-university "fv-autolink") in 1868, Meharry Medical College in 1876, and later Morehouse School of Medicine in 1975) and created the National Medical Association as a professional home for Black doctors.

That's the move the CED wants you to see (EK 4.20.B.2). Morehouse isn't just a school name to memorize. It's evidence of a pattern that repeats across the whole course: when mainstream institutions slam the door, [Black communities](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/23-the-civil-war-and-black-communities/study-guide/izqwf48keJf083W0 "fv-autolink") build parallel institutions that serve their own people and end up strengthening American medicine overall. The fact that Morehouse School of Medicine was founded in 1975, decades after legal segregation ended, also tells you the need for Black medical training didn't disappear with Jim Crow.

## Why It Matters

Morehouse lives in **Topic 4.20: Science, Medicine, and Technology in Black Communities** ([Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink"): Movements and Debates) and directly supports learning objective **AP African American Studies 4.20.B**, which asks you to describe African Americans' contributions to American medical care and training. Morehouse is one of the CED's named examples (alongside [Meharry College](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/meharry-college "fv-autolink") and Howard University) of HBCUs that established medical schools to counter exclusion. It connects to the bigger 4.20 story too, including community-based free care, the first nonsegregated hospitals, and the Black hospital movement (EK 4.20.B.1). On the exam, Morehouse is your go-to specific evidence for the theme of Black self-determination and institution-building in medicine.

## Connections

### Meharry College and Howard University (Unit 4)

These three are the CED's package deal in EK 4.20.B.2. Howard (1868) and Meharry (1876) came first, founded right after the Civil War, while Morehouse School of Medicine (1975) is the modern entry. Together they show Black medical training as a continuous project, not a one-time fix.

### [Daniel Hale Williams (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/daniel-hale-williams)

Williams represents the hospital side of the same fight. Black physicians like him helped found America's first [nonsegregated hospitals](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o "fv-autolink") because Black doctors trained at HBCU medical schools still needed places to practice. Schools like Morehouse and hospitals like Williams's are two halves of one system.

### Eugenics and forced sterilization (Unit 4)

Topic 4.20 pairs Black contributions to medicine with medical [racism](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/1-the-ngritude-and-negrismo-movements/study-guide/eK9QyiGxxk1iteQm "fv-autolink") against Black people. Eugenics-era abuse made Black-run medical institutions matter even more, since Black physicians trained at places like Morehouse were more likely to treat Black patients with dignity.

### [Kizzmekia Corbett (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/kizzmekia-corbett)

Corbett's work on COVID-19 vaccine development shows where the pipeline leads. The HBCU medical training tradition that Morehouse represents feeds directly into modern Black scientists shaping national and global health.

## On the AP Exam

Morehouse shows up in multiple-choice questions that test whether you understand *why* Black medical schools existed, not just *that* they existed. Common stems ask why institutions like Morehouse School of Medicine were established (answer: exclusion from the AMA and mainstream medical training), what umbrella term describes schools like Meharry and Morehouse (HBCUs), and what their persistence into the 21st century demonstrates (the ongoing need for institutions serving Black communities, beyond the Jim Crow era). No released FRQ has used Morehouse verbatim, but it works as specific evidence in a short-answer or essay about African American institution-building, responses to segregation, or contributions to American medicine under LO 4.20.B. The skill being tested is cause and effect. Name the exclusion, then name the institutional response.

## Morehouse vs Meharry College

Both are HBCU medical institutions named in EK 4.20.B.2, so they blur together fast. The key difference is timing. Howard (1868) and Meharry (1876) were founded in the Reconstruction era as the first medical schools for African Americans, while Morehouse School of Medicine opened in 1975, after the civil rights movement. If an MCQ asks which institution came *first*, Morehouse is the wrong answer. If it asks what the *persistence* of Black medical schools into the 21st century shows, Morehouse is your example.

## Key Takeaways

- Morehouse is an HBCU in Atlanta whose School of Medicine (founded 1975) trained African American physicians who were barred from the American Medical Association and mainstream medical schools.
- The CED names Morehouse alongside Meharry College and Howard University as examples of HBCU medical schools under EK 4.20.B.2.
- Black physicians also founded the National Medical Association because the AMA excluded them, so the response to exclusion covered both training and professional membership.
- Morehouse School of Medicine's 1975 founding shows that the need for Black medical institutions continued well after legal segregation ended.
- On the exam, use Morehouse as specific evidence for the pattern of Black institution-building in response to systemic exclusion, the central theme of LO 4.20.B.

## FAQs

### What is Morehouse in AP African American Studies?

Morehouse is a historically Black college in Atlanta whose School of Medicine, founded in 1975, trained [African American](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-2/10-black-pride-identity-and-the-question-of-naming/study-guide/sCMCOOHW7DRtM6jH "fv-autolink") physicians excluded from the AMA and white medical schools. It appears in Topic 4.20 as a CED example of HBCU medical institution-building.

### Was Morehouse the first Black medical school?

No. Howard University's medical school (1868) was the first medical school for African Americans, followed by Meharry Medical College (1876). Morehouse School of Medicine came much later, in 1975.

### Why was Morehouse School of Medicine established?

Because African Americans were barred from the American Medical Association and largely shut out of mainstream medical training. HBCU medical schools like Morehouse created an alternative pipeline so Black physicians could be trained and Black communities could be served.

### How is Morehouse different from Howard University on the exam?

Both are HBCUs with medical schools named in EK 4.20.B.2, but Howard's medical school dates to 1868, the Reconstruction era, while Morehouse School of Medicine opened in 1975. Howard answers 'first' questions; Morehouse answers 'persistence into the modern era' questions.

### Does the persistence of Morehouse School of Medicine mean segregation still exists in medicine?

Not legally, but its founding in 1975 shows that ending Jim Crow didn't automatically end disparities in medical training and care. Exam questions frame its persistence as evidence of the continued importance of Black-serving institutions, not as a sign that legal segregation continued.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.20 Science, Medicine, and Technology in Black Communities](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o)

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