Aaron McDuffie Moore, M.D. (September 6, 1863 – April 29, 1923) was a medical doctor, medical director, and officer at a bank, hospital, pharmacy, university and insurer serving African Americans in North Carolina. He was born in Whiteville, North Carolina. He lived in Durham, North Carolina. He was the first African-American medical doctor of Durham, North Carolina, USA, and a prominent leader in the African-American community based in the part of the city known as Hayti. He founded Lincoln Hospital, a medical facility that served Negro patients during a time of racial segregation. Moore was also instrumental to the incorporation of North Carolina Mutual Life Company, which became the largest black-owned business in the country, and the improvement of North Carolina's rural school education. Through philanthropic works and business enterprises, Moore played a significant role in improving the standard of living of African Americans in Durham. He also overcame racial discrimination, bridging the White and Black communities in Durham in addition to improving its healthcare and economy.
Early life and education
Aaron McDuffie Moore was born on September 6, 1863, in Rosindale, North Carolina, to Israel Moore and Anna Eliza Spaulding Moore. Since the early nineteenth century, the Moore family, of African, Native American and European descent had owned land in Columbus County as free farmers. Like his nine siblings: 4 boys and 5 girls, Aaron Moore alternated between working on the family farm (during the harvesting and planting seasons) and attending the segregated county school. Upon completing 8th grade, Moore became a teacher at the same county school. He entered Whitin Normal School, in Lumberton, followed by the Normal School at Fayetteville to further his education. These institutions were both focused on teacher training, as education was considered key for freedmen's progress and there was an effort to develop black teachers for segregated schools across the state. However, after completing his first term at the latter, Moore was summoned home by his father to help on the farm.
Leonard Medical School
Ambitious beyond farming, Moore enrolled in 1885 in the newly established Shaw University, a historically black college in Raleigh, intending to become a professor. But, encouraged by his teachers who saw his promise, Moore entered the University's Leonard Medical School. Completing the prescribed 4 years of medical education in 3 years, Aaron Moore came before the Medical Examiners of the State of North Carolina in 1888. He passed the examinations and ranked second among the 46 candidates, 30 of whom were white. Having been certified as a Doctor of Medicine, Dr. Moore decided to practice in Durham, where he was the city's first Black medical doctor.
Marriage and family
In 1889, Moore married Cottie S. Dancy, niece of John C. Dancy, a leading African-American Republican in North Carolina. They had a family together.
Politics
Moore became interested in politics and was nominated for the office of coroner of Durham County in 1888. However, his campaign was met with much resistance from the white community, as shown by coverage in the Durham Recorder: "White men of Durham, those who have any respect for the Anglo-Saxon race, will you fail your duty on the 6th of November? Will you allow Negro rule or a white man's government?"
Moore was in a campaign marked by racial discrimination, as were many in those years. Euro-Americans were still trying to maintain dominance; by the end of the century while in control of the state legislature, they passed a constitution that essentially disfranchised blacks, a situation that persisted until federal legislation of the mid-1960s to enforce constitutional rights for minorities. Dismayed by the antagonism, Moore withdrew from the campaign and settled for supporting candidates who served the Durham community's interest.