Dr. Alonzo de Grate Smith, the first full-time African American clinician on faculty at Howard University School of Medicine, was born in East Orange, New Jersey on July 29, 1890. He studied for two years at Howard University before entering Long Island Medical College. He received his M.D. in 1919 and later received a B.S. from the College of the City of New York in 1923. He served his internship in Kansas City General Hospital No. 2 before returning to practice in New York City. Dr. Smith began to concentrate on pediatrics in 1922 and served on staff at Vanderbilt Clinic, Mt. Sinai Hospital, and Harlem Hospital. Dr. Numa P.G. Adams, first African American medical dean, lured Dr. Smith to Washington, D.C. in 1932, where he served as chief of the Division of Pediatrics. During his tenure, he instituted a pediatric clerkship in pediatrics among other accomplishments. He resigned as chief in 1945 and became clinical associate professor of pediatrics before fully resigning in June 1956. He had served 23 years at Howard as chief and professor.  

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2611735/