Black History Spotlight: The Legend and The Living Example

Perhaps not well known but certainly a legend, he was the first African-American to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. His name was John Rock. Rock was admitted before the court in 1865 the same year the Civil War ended. It was perhaps fitting for Rock, born as a free man who devoted much time and energy to the abolition of slavery. The trailblazer was a man of many talents. Not only was he a lawyer, but he was also a dentist, a physician, and a former school teacher.

He is the living example of a renaissance man very much in the likeness of the late Mr. Rock. Bryant Cameron Webb is a current joint JD/MD student and the former national president of the Student National Medical Association. He served as the association’s president from 2010 to 2011. Webb is pursuing his law degree at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and his medical degree at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is described by SMNA alums as a natural and charismatic leader. Ultimately he hopes to build a career in health policy where he can work towards facilitating access to quality health care. His medical research interests include minority health, and health disparities. Though a full-time student and on track to earn the titles lawyer, and doctor, there are two titles which mean a lot to more to him: husband and father. Webb is married to a fellow physician Dr. Leigh-Ann Jones Webb, and they are proud parents of a baby daughter.

Listen to a special Black History Month profile recognizing black lawyers by the U.S. Census Bureau.