Dr. Walter J. Minor
Dr. Walter J. Minor was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on August 12, 1905. He was the fourth child in his family and his father worked for the Great Northern Railroad Company. In high school, Dr. Minor excelled as a member of the track team; he must have carried over into academics the same hard work and dedication that he put into athletics because after completing high school, he was accepted at and attended the University of Minnesota. In 1926, he entered the university’s medical school. After finishing his studies there, he held a rotating internship for one year at Hubbard Hospital and Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1931, Dr. Minor returned to St. Paul, took the Minnesota State Board Examination, and received his medical license. After traveling extensively to several states, he decided to settle in Texas, and in January of 1932, he set up his medical practice in Houston.
Houston Negro Hospital was the only hospital during that time where Dr. Minor could practice as a black physician under segregation laws. Dr Minor once called Houston Negro, “the bridge that carried (him) over those troubled waters.” He served as president of the medical staff and chief of surgery during his time there. Because of segregation, not only was Dr. Minor not allowed to work in other hospitals, but he was also excluded from professional medical organizations. He persisted, however, and finally in 1954 he was admitted into the Harris County Medical Society. As a result of this membership status, he was permitted to join other hospital staffs in the area.
Dr. Minor was among a group of six men who came together and went to court on January 24, 1950, seeking desegregation of Houston’s golf facilities. His activism resulted in an eventual Supreme Court decision to open golf courses and other municipalities of recreational facilities to blacks. In 1984, Dr. Minor was honored by Riverside General Hospital for over fifty years of achievement and service as a Houston physician. Dr. E.B. Perry wrote in 1965, “Dr. Walter Minor…was a keen student who worked diligently in every capacity. He brought to the [Riverside] hospital a high level of professional performance.”
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