Written by Laurel Graham, Head of the Leon Levy Dental Medicine Library:
The Class of 1926 was exceptional as it included African American students. *
The presence of these students was remarkable because at the time African American students faced almost insurmountable obstacles in attaining an education despite their high level of scholarship.
These students were living in a country that had, until relatively recently, enslaved their ancestors and a country in which bigotry was codified.
Most African Americans at the time attended historically black colleges and universities as this data from 1940 reveals:1
Dr. Batey's wife was an educator who actively worked to end segregation. For more information on Batey and Bragg, please click on the PDF below.
