NEW YORK – The serene grounds of Williamsburg host Sarah J. S. Tompkins Garnet Park, while a park named Susan Smith McKinney Steward Park lies a mere two miles away in DUMBO. These are not the only places honoring their legacies – schools in Fort Greene and Prospect Heights also bear their names. Who were these remarkable women who made such a lasting impact on Brooklyn?
Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward was a trailblazer as the first Black woman to practice medicine in New York state. Graduating at the top of her class, she went on to establish a successful medical practice in Brooklyn. “Through her own hard work as a teacher, she financed her way through medical school,” reveals Dominique Jean-Louis, the chief historian at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Center for Brooklyn History.
Her older sister, Sarah Garnet, achieved a significant milestone as the first Black female principal of a New York City Public School. “Their journey to become pioneers in their respective fields and symbols of Black women’s capabilities on a national and international level is quite evident,” Jean-Louis tells CBS News New York reporter Hannah Kliger. “This was greatly influenced by the unique circumstances within Brooklyn’s Black community, particularly in Weeksville, which fostered such exceptional individuals.”
Jean-Louis suggests that insights into their upbringing shed light on their sources of inspiration. Born to Sylvanus Smith, a prosperous hog farmer in Weeksville, one of the earliest free Black communities in the U.S., founded in the 1830s. At its apex, it flourished as a self-sustaining Black neighborhood with a plethora of businesses, churches, and schools. “Their upbringing in a community focused on Black progress, where individuals not only aimed for personal success amidst the challenges specific to Black people, but also strived to uplift their fellow community members,” Jean-Louis elaborates.
Regina Robbins, a tour educator at the Weeksville Heritage Center, notes that people were drawn to Weeksville not solely for economic reasons but also to be part of a predominantly Black community, a rare phenomenon in the U.S. during that era. Mrs. Garnet and Dr. McKinney Steward traveled to London in 1911 to participate in the Universal Races Congress to advocate for interracial harmony.
Dr. McKinney Steward specialized in pediatric medicine, co-founded a hospital, and later embarked on a journey out West with her second husband, Theophilus Gould Steward, a U.S. Army Buffalo Soldier of the premier all-Black Army regiment. Her great-granddaughter, the late actress Ellen Holly, the first Black soap opera star in America, reflected on her legacy in a 2004 interview, stating, “It’s truly special when someone acknowledges your contributions.”
Both sisters were integral figures in the Women’s Suffrage movement, playing key roles in establishing the Equal Suffrage League, which aimed to
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