Here Comes the Graduate, Dr. Sydney Borden Scott

On the 20^th of June 1910, Volume 16, Number 6 of The Plexus reported on the 28^th Annual Commencement of the College of Physicians and Surgeons within the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois. Of the ceremony, which had taken place at the Studebaker Theatre on June 7^th, The Plexus wrote:

As the orchestra played Mendelssohn’s Grand March, ‘Athalie,’ the one hundred and thirty one graduates wearing caps and gowns, entered the left rear door of the main floor of the theatre and in solemn order, marched down the left aisle, taking their places in the middle block of seats.

Interior of the Studebaker Theater, 1911. See citation below.

Exterior of the Studebaker Theater, 1906. See citation below.

The Reverend William O. Shepard gave the invocation, starting a program that included a Doctorate Address, a Valedictory speech, multiple musical interludes, and, of course, the Conferring of Degrees.

Among the 131graduates, seated in his cap and gown, was a thirty-ish-year-old black man from Georgia named Sydney Borden Scott.

The College memorialized the year’s graduates in a composite class photo, each of the men and women - and their professors - projecting an air of somber professionalism:
 

UA016.36.01.01_0001_1910.1, College of Medicine Class Composite Photographs, University
Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago.

And, tucked in the upper left-hand corner, the very first face you’ll see is S.B. Scott, M.D. 

Same citation as above.

So, how did he get here? Well, despite the uncertainty of my last post, this story starts in Georgia…


Additional Image Citations:

1. Interior of the Studebaker Theater: Shared by CharmaineZoe's Marvelous Melange, on Flickr.com, courtesy of Creative Commons 2.0 Generic Attribution. Original link: https://flickr.com/photos/charmainezoe/5358119194. 

2. Exterior of the Studebaker Theater: Image published in Chicago, the Great Central Market: A Magazine of Business. Made available by the University of Illinois Library, through the Open Content Alliance. Permalink: https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/ebc563a0-1a05-0134-1d6d-0050569601ca-7