Margaret Morgan Lawrence, M.D.

Dr. Lawrence made history as the third black woman to enroll at Columbia University of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating as the sole black student in a class of 104 in 1940. She achieved another milestone by becoming the first African American psychoanalyst to complete training in the United States at the Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research from 1946 to 1951.

Throughout her journey, Dr. Lawrence received encouragement from Dr. Charles Drew, the only black faculty member at Columbia, who assured her that her dedication and expertise transcended racial barriers. When her application was declined at Babies Hospital, she pursued a pediatric internship at Harlem Hospital, where she served as chief of developmental psychiatry services for the next two decades.

Dr. Lawrence played a pivotal role in establishing mental health services in Harlem and Rockland County as a founding trustee of the Harlem Family Institute. Her contributions to child mental health were groundbreaking, including the development of innovative therapy programs in schools, daycare centers, and hospital clinics. She actively participated in the Committee of Black Psychiatrists and was recognized as a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA.

Her remarkable life story has been eloquently captured by her daughter, Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot, in the book Balm in Gilead: Journey of a Healer (1988).