As Executive Director of the Meharry Medical College Library and Archives, Sandra Parham has become one of the institution’s most devoted stewards — documenting, preserving, and elevating the stories of the students, faculty, staff and alumni who have shaped Meharry’s mission for nearly a century and a half.
Though not a Meharry graduate herself, Sandra Param believes preserving Meharry’s history isn’t about looking backward — it’s about ensuring the future understands what came before it.
Serving as the guardian of a 150-year legacy rooted in service, resilience and community care, in this episode Param shares how documenting Meharry’s past — its students, stories and sacrifices — reveals why the institution’s mission remains as vital today as it was in 1876.
“Meharry’s vision is never going to fade — because where we have people, we’re always going to have poverty and we’re always going to have wars. There’s always going to be a need for solace, a need for care,” she says. “So there’ll always be a place for a Meharrian.”
A Calling Rooted in History, Literature, and Place
Parham’s journey into librarianship and archives began just across the street from Meharry. She recalls how her family lived nearby and how the institution functioned as a cultural and communal anchor in Black Nashville.
“It was a community,” she says, “a place of cultural significance,” describing Meharry and Hubbard Hospital as central to life in North Nashville — where doctors, nurses, churches, families and education were deeply intertwined.
“My journey started at Fisk, as an English major,” she shares, explaining how a deep love of literature, philosophy, religion and Black studies shaped her early academic path. Though she initially considered nursing or medicine, medical librarianship — offered in Michigan — opened a door she hadn’t known existed.
After years at institutions including Tennessee State University, Texas Southern University, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Lipscomb University, Parham returned to her native Nashville.
It was while writing a grant proposal that included Meharry that she encountered its archives for the first time.
“I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,” she recalls. “What a treasure trove you have here at Meharry.’”
From documents dating back to 1876 to memorabilia, photographs and student records, she recognized the extraordinary scope — and responsibility — of the collection.
Shortly thereafter, when an opportunity arose for her to lead Meharry’s robust archival process, Param graciously accepted, “and it’s been happily ever after.”
Why Archives Matter: Stories That Would Otherwise Be Lost
Parham’s passion for history is inseparable from her love of storytelling.
“I love history. I’ve always been a history buff and I love art history,” she says, describing her fascination with African art and how stunned she was to discover original African pieces preserved within Meharry’s collections — from one of the very first missionaries who went to Africa.
But it’s Meharry’s student records that Parham finds to be one of the most powerful resources. Beginning in 1910, these documents include photographs, family histories and personal narratives required for admission.
“You never know when someone says, ‘Hey, my great-great-grandfather,’ and I always say, ‘What year?’” If it’s after 1910, she notes, “we’ve got the student record.”
With access to nearly the entirety of Meharry’s documented history, Parham has a unique vantage point of the moments that define 150 years of service.
When asked which eras stand out most, she doesn’t hesitate: “The first years.”
She describes the leadership of Dr. George W. Hubbard, who co-founded Meharry and served as the organization’s first president and dean, as well as Dr. John J. Mullowney, Meharry’s president in the 1920s and 30s, whose efforts to secure philanthropic support reveal both hardship and transformation. Reading Mullowney’s writings, she recounts moments that “bring you to tears” — from performing operations without adequate lighting to witnessing his own evolving belief in the brilliance of Meharry students.
“There’s one picture of a student selling pies in 1921 on the streets just to get funds to go to school,” she highlights, “It just brought me to tears as much as how far we’ve come and how far we haven’t.”
Parham believes Meharry’s history and how it impacts Nashville’s own evolution, needs to be told, and she has made it her duty to ensure the legacy is visible beyond the archives.
Marking History in the Physical World
As part of the city’s historical marker committee — a program to commemorate significant people, places, and events in the city’s past — Parham has championed for markers honoring Meharry figures like Dr. Josie E. Wells, Dr. Robert F. Boyd, Dr. Lloyd C. Elam, Dr. Hubbard and others.
“I wanted the markers for historical significance, for the city to realize we deserve this,” she says. “I wish I had the time to really go through all the places in Black Nashville that deserve a marker, but I work at Meharry, so my emphasis is always our campus first.”
The goal, she explains, is not only recognition but acknowledgment of Meharry’s significance to the city itself.
Celebrating 150 Years Through Students’ Stories
Parham served as the principal driver behind Celebrating 150 Years of Meharry’s Legacy, a newly released history book focused on its students.
“I wanted it to be about the students, 150 years of students,” she explains — from the first in 1877 through 2020, one per year. Some stories are well known; others are deeply moving discoveries, including a student who donated her body back to Meharry decades after graduating.
“This is what it’s about. It’s about the students. It’s about the give back.”
“This book was a joy to do because it gave me insight on our current students,” she says. “Those early students that I knew I wanted to cover and those students that no one would’ve thought of, this is the contribution all the students made.”
Inspired by Ken Burns documentaries, Parham embraced technology to bring history to life — including artificial intelligence — to animate archival images for the companion video project.
“When you see the students moving, waving their hands, from the first colorized picture…It brought tears to my eyes,” she says, emphasizing that AI was used selectively to enhance — not replace — the historical record.
Why Meharry Will Always Matter
Looking ahead a century, Parham is resolute on what she hopes will be gleaned from a deep dive into the archives she now preserves.
“I don’t know where we’re going to be 100 years from now, but I know there’ll always be a need for Meharry’s mission,” she says. “And I hope they’ll realize how far we’ve come.”
Curating Meharry’s legacy though is not without obstacles. “It costs so much for preservation,” Parham explains, noting the challenges of digitization, funding and the sheer volume of records.
While paper records can be stabilized, digitization requires resources that remain uncertain — especially after halted funding for a Smithsonian collaboration.
Still, she sees preservation as non-negotiable.
“Those are our treasures,” she says.
Parham closes with a powerful charge to Meharry alumni, supporters and the broader community. “Don’t let us down,” she says, emphasizing collective responsibility — funding, scholarships, research and continued growth.
“Meharry represents what we can do for people, but it’s also for the common good of all,” she says. “That vision is never going to fade.”
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