Dr. Latonya Washington is the president of the Bluff City Medical Society, which is an organization for physicians of color in Memphis, Tennessee a subsidiary of the National Medical Association. Dr. Washington attended Tougaloo College in Mississippi where she received a bachelor of science and received her master’s and doctorate of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.
How did attending Tougaloo College, a historically Black college university (HBCU), influence your desire to be a doctor?
I feel like attending an HBCU was one of the best decisions of my life, but I really didn’t have much of a choice. Both of my parents are HBCU graduates and I have a long line of individuals in my family who are HBCU graduates. My great uncle was actually the president of an HBCU. So, there was no question where I would attend college. Growing up watching the tv series A Different World, I wanted my college experience to be like that. So, of course I chose an HBCU. I knew in advance that I wanted to become a physician from the time that I was very, very young, and Tougaloo College is an HBCU in Mississippi that really produces most of the state’s Black physicians.
What was it like experiencing the love, affection, grit and candor of Black professors at an HBCU?
I couldn’t narrow it down to just one professor, because every professor at Tougaloo was very invested in the students. They wanted us to be set up for success. Not only were the professors supportive, but also the alumni. As an alumni, I do give back. I was actually on campus less than a month ago talking to students who wanted to attend medical school. They really focused on the coursework and focused on setting us up for success, making sure that we had everything in line and that we were well prepared to be able to not only be successful at Tougaloo College, but also once we left the grounds as well.
What is one of your greatest memories of your professors?
I think that one of my best memories I have is when I was going through the process of applying for medical school. We have all of these applications, all of these recommendation letters that were due and a multitude of transcripts. At HBCUs and at schools like Tougaloo, we are a family. Everyone knows everyone by name. So, when you get in good with the with the secretaries or the executive assistants of those professors, you could say “Hey! Did Dr. ‘So and So’ get my letter of recommendation?” And they’re like, “Yeah, we got it all together.” Everybody just pulls together to make sure that you can get where you need to be.
They really made sure that we understood the experience of what life would be like once we were able to see and visualize our goals. They were setting us up with Tougaloo graduates who were physicians, allowing us to be able to talk to them and shadow them. Those were situations where I felt were the most valuable when I was in school.
