06/19/2023
On June 19, 1865, Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, who had fought for the Union, led a force of soldiers to Galveston, Texas, to deliver a very important message: The war was finally over, the Union had won, and it now had the manpower to enforce the end of slavery. After they were freed, some former slaves and their descendants would travel to Galveston annually in honor of Juneteenth.
In the years to follow, there were many firsts for the African American community in the chiropractic field. In 1895, Harvey Lillard, an African American janitor, became the first ever chiropractic patient, regaining his hearing after 17 years of being deaf. In 1913, Fred Rubel, DC became the first known African American to graduate from National School of Chiropractic. Nine years later in 1922, Dr. Rubel founded the Rubel College of Chiropractic. In 1947, Samantha P. Adams, DC, became the first African American woman and chiropractor on the Ohio State Medical Board. For 33 years, she was the only African American chiropractor in Toledo, Ohio.
