NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A new mural covers most of the lobby inside the main library at Meharry Medical College.
The floor-to-ceiling display highlights Meharry's movers and shakers. It displays artifacts like a doctor's bag, stethoscope, bricks and a nurse's cap.
The timeline starts in the early 1800s with the story of the Black family who rescued Samuel Meharry, a white man. As the legend goes, Meharry went on to start the medical college for African Americans as a thank you.
"We feel that telling the story, we hope, will show people you've got to go back and look at a time period when people cared about people, when it wasn't about race and trying to put one group of people in front of the other," said Sandra Parham, the library's executive director.
Parham said there was no other chronology like this on campus, and the library was the perfect place for it.
"We wanted the students to have a focal point — to have a place to come and look at the history was what we were aiming for," said Parham.
The public is invited to the unveiling on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. Some students got a sneak peek at it on Thursday.
"I think it's great that we can see where we've come from," said Gernie Batey, a first-year medical student. "It's kind of a physical reminder."
