Gala aims to help aspiring Morehouse dental and medical students
An organization is honoring two trailblazing Black health leaders at a gala Friday evening to raise money for Morehouse College students and other students of color in the health professions and biomedical sciences.
The Thomas J. Blocker Society’s event at the Intercontinental Buckhead Atlanta will celebrate the achievements of Dr. David Satcher and Dr. Louis Sullivan. Satcher was U.S. surgeon general from 1998 to 2002. Sullivan was the founding dean and president of Morehouse School of Medicine and a former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. Prominent author Dr. Ian Smith is hosting the gala.
The society, founded in 2012, aims to help more students of color — particularly from Morehouse College — establish careers in the dental and medical fields. Morehouse, located near downtown Atlanta, is a historically Black college for men.
Only 4% of male active dentists are Black, according to the American Dental Education Association. Five percent of doctors are Black, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.
About the Author
Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.
