Frederick Scott:
Johns Hopkin's University's First Black Undergraduate                

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Frederick Scott is among those individuals who forever changed Johns Hopkins University. A native of Baltimore, Mr. Scott graduated from Douglass High School and applied to Johns Hopkins University on a dare from his friends who believed he would be rejected on the basis of his race.
Mr. Scott took them up on their challenge. Inquisitive by nature, he first approached the administration at Hopkins by asking, in his characteristically forthcoming way, if they “accepted Negroes in here.” Replying that they hadn’t had any applications from Negroes, the Registrar sent him an application and told him to try his luck. After successfully completing the application process and scoring high on the entrance exam, Mr. Scott entered Johns Hopkins as an undergraduate freshman on February 1, 1945. 

 During his time at Hopkins, Mr. Scott was involved in a range of organizations both on campus and in the community of Baltimore. As one of the founding fathers of Beta Sigma Tau, the first interracial fraternity in Baltimore, Mr. Scott sought to incorporate members from Loyola College, Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins in an organization that precluded race as a basis of collectivity and fraternity.

Frederick Scott

Mr. Scott also participated in activities with the YMCA, student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and JHU's Honor Commission. Today, his legacy continues to inspire students, faculty and staff through the eponymous Frederick Scott Brigade.

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