Wake Forest University is hosting a year-long celebration called, Faces of Courage, recognizing 50 years of Integration. It opened its doors to minorities in 1962. Yesterday, it honored the school's first Native American Indian graduate and also broke barriers at the Wake Forest Bowman Gray School of Medicine.
As a child growing up in Pembroke, N.C., James Jones dreamed of becoming a medical missionary. So in 1955, he applied to Wake Forest Bowman Gray School of Medicine. He had strong grades and glowing recommendations from his Wake Forest College professors, but he was a Lumbee Indian challenging the traditional white establishment.
He says while his first interview went well, he never heard back from the medical school. After some persistence, Jones was invited for a second interview, something no other applicant had to go through.
Dr. Jones was finally accepted into the Bowman Gray School of Medicine and graduated in 1959. He ultimately became a family medicine physician. He also opened a private practice in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Dr. Jones was also influential in getting North Carolina medical schools to establish family medicine programs and recognize it as a specialty. He retired in January 2012.
