M17: Samuel Meharry And The Goodness Of a Newly Freed Family

In 1826, young salt trader Samuel Meharry found himself stranded in a swamp on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Helpless and alone, he was saved by a recently freed Black family who had every reason to keep moving—but chose compassion over fear. In gratitude, Meharry made a promise: “I have no money, but when I can, I shall do something for your race.”

Fifty years later, he and his brothers fulfilled that vow by founding Meharry Medical College, the first medical school in the South for Black students. This powerful act transformed Black healthcare, educated generations of physicians, and even influenced the desegregation of the U.S. military. A single act of kindness changed history—forever.

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M17: SAMUEL MEHARRY AND THE GOODNESS OF A NEWLY FREED FAMILY

IF YOU’VE EVER MADE A BIG MISTAKE BECAUSE YOU WERE CARELESS, IT’S A PRETTY TERRIBLE FEELING. FOR THOSE WHO ARE STUBBORNLY INDEPENDENT…TO HAVE TO RELY ON SOMEONE ELSE TO SAVE YOU BECAUSE YOU MADE A BAD DECISION, IS ABOUT AS BAD AS IT GETS.

THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED TO ME, I WAS MOUNTAIN BIKING SOLO IN AN AREA I WASN’T VERY FAMILIAR WITH. I DIDN’T CHECK THE WEATHER. I DIDN’T BRING A MAP, AND I DIDN’T BRING MUCH FOOD OR WATER. ALL SOLID CHOICES.

IT ENDED WITH ME SEVERELY DEHYDRATED, INJURED, LIMPING MY BIKE DOWN A SERVICE ROAD IN A THUNDERSTORM, SOMEHOW IN A DIFFERENT STATE THAN WHEN I’D STARTED. IF IT WEREN’T FOR A COUPLE ON A MUDDY BACK-WOODS RIDE IN THEIR JEEP, WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. FOR ME, IT WAS A THANKFUL, BUT DEMORALIZING 45-MINUTE DRIVE BACK TO MY CAR AT THE TRAILHEAD.

WHEN WE SCREW UP BADLY LIKE THAT, THE SENSE OF RELIEF WHEN SOMEONE COMES ALONG AND SAVES US IS HARD TO DESCRIBE.

THIS IS A STORY ABOUT A WHITE MAN IN THE EARLY 1800S WHO HAD GOTTEN HIMSELF INTO A SERIOUS PREDICAMENT – AND THEN WAS SAVED BY A FAMILY OF RECENTLY FREED SLAVES. THE RISK THEY TOOK TO HELP HIM, AND THE PROMISE HE MADE TO THEM FOR THEIR KINDNESS, WOULD PROVE TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF AMERICAN HISTORY…

EPISODE

IT WAS 1826 AND SAMUEL MEHARRY, A YOUNG SCOTCH-IRISH IMMIGRANT AND SALT TRADER, WAS TRAVELLING VIA HORSE-AND BUGGY ON THE KENTUCKY-TENNESSEE FRONTIER. AT ONE POINT IN THE LONG JOURNEY, HE WAS CARELESS, LOST CONTROL OF THE BUGGY AND CAREENED OFF THE TRAIL AND INTO A SWAMP, LEAVING HIM UNABLE TO FREE HIMSELF.

THERE WERE VERY FEW TRAVELLERS ALONG THE ROUTE AND THE WEATHER WAS TURNING, SO MEHARRY KNEW HIS SITUATION WAS GRIM. NOW DESTITUTE, HE WAITED AND WAITED FOR SOMEONE TO COME ALONG.

EVENTUALLY, IN A STROKE OF LUCK, ANOTHER HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE MADE IT’S WAY DOWN THE TRAIL. NAVIGATING THE WAGON WAS A FAMILY OF RECENTLY FREED SLAVES. THEY WERE WELL AWARE THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD BEEN FREED, IN THE SOUTH, THEIR CHANCES OF BEING CAPTURED AND ENSLAVED AGAIN WERE REAL. THEY HAD NO GOOD REASON TO STOP, AND EVEN LESS OF A REASON TO TRUST THE WHITE MAN STUCK IN THE SWAMP.

STILL, OUT OF SHEER KINDNESS FOR ANOTHER HUMAN BEING IN TROUBLE, THIS FAMILY, THEIR NAMES UNKNOWN TO THIS DAY, STOPPED THEIR CARRIAGE.  

RESISTING FEAR AND HATRED, THEY HELPED THE MAN. THEY GAVE HIM FOOD AND SHELTER, AND LIKELY SAVED SAMUEL MEHARRY’S LIFE.

THERE WAS NOTHING HE COULD DO FOR THEM OTHER THAN THANK THEM, BUT BEFORE THEY HEADED THEIR SEPARATE WAYS, HE MADE A PROMISE. HE SAID:

“I HAVE NO MONEY, BUT WHEN I CAN, I SHALL DO SOMETHING FOR YOUR RACE.”

AND HE REMAINED TRUE TO HIS WORD.

AFTER FINDING SUCCESS IN BUSINESS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DECADES, SAMUEL MEHARRY CONVINCED HIS FOUR BROTHERS TO POOL THEIR MONEY FOR A SPECIAL PROJECT.

AT THE TIME, AFRICAN AMERICANS STRUGGLED TO FIND ADEQUATE MEDICAL CARE DUE TO SEGREGATION. THERE WERE ALMOST NO AFRICAN AMERICAN PHYSICIANS IN THE SOUTH, SO THE MEHARRY BROTHERS, ACTING ON THE PROMISE SAMUEL MADE ALMOST FIFTY YEARS EARLIER, MADE TO A FAMILY THAT SHOWED HIM KINDNESS WHEN THEY DIDN’T NEED TO, DECIDED TO CHANGE THAT.

THEY DONATED SOME LAND IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE AND $15,000, WHICH IN PRESENT DAY WOULD AMOUNT TO ABOUT HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, IN ORDER TO OPEN UP A MEDICAL SCHOOL.

MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE, THE FIRST MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE SOUTH FOR BLACK STUDENTS, OPENED IT’S DOORS IN 1876 TO A CLASS OF NINE STUDENTS.

FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS, TOGETHER WITH HOWARD UNIVERSITY IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE TWO MEDICAL SCHOOLS WOULD EDUCATE MORE BLACK MEDICAL STUDENTS THAN THE OTHER 99 MEDICAL SCHOOLS COMBINED, SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVING BLACK MEDICAL CARE IN THE SOUTH.

MANY OF THESE BLACK DOCTORS BECAME THE FLIGHT SURGEONS COMING TO THE AID OF THE TUSKEGEE AIRMEN DURING WORLD WAR 2. THIS FIGHTING FORCE SIGNIFICANTLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE ALLIED WAR EFFORT AND PAVED THE WAY FOR DESEGREGATION IN THE U.S. MILITARY. THAT DECISION TO DESEGREGATE THE SERVICE WAS A TURNING POINT FOR RACIAL EQUITY IN AMERICAN HISTORY.

NOBODY WOULD HAVE KNOWN IF SAMUEL MEHARRY WOULDN’T HAVE HONORED THE COMMITMENT HE MADE TO A NAMELESS BLACK FAMILY ON THE KENTUCKY-TENNESSE BORDER FIFTY YEARS EARLIER. HOWEVER, BEING TRUE TO HIS WORD CHANGED COUNTLESS LIVES AND FAMILIES FOR GENERATIONS.

BUT NONE OF THIS HAPPENS WITHOUT A DECISION BY A FAMILY OF RECENTLY FREED SLAVES, WHO LOOKED PAST IMMEASURABLE SUFFERING DUE TO THE COLOR OF THEIR SKIN. THEY SET ASIDE THEIR PREJUDICES AND FEARS, TO CARE FOR A STRANGER WHO DESPERATELY NEEDED HELP, REGARDLESS OF THE MAN’S RACE. IN DOING SO, IT HAD A RIPPLE AFFECT THAT CAN STILL BE FELT TO THIS DAY.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meharry_Medical_College

https://jprobinsonbooks.com/2023/02/01/how-one-act-of-kindness-changed-blackhistory/