Breaking barriers

The daughter of Jermain Lougen, once hailed as the “Underground Railroad King,” Dr. Sarah Lougen Fraser was a local African-American leader in her own right. In 1876, Lougen became the first African-American female graduate from Syracuse University’s Medical College and one of the first four AfricanAmerican female doctors in the nation. By 1883, Lougen had moved to the Dominican Republic and became the first female physician in the history of the Dominican Republic. Lougen eventually moved back to Syracuse, settling on Wescott Street while continuing to practice. She later moved to Washington, D.C. to be with her daughter. She is remembered locally through the Dr. Sarah Lougen Fraser Center, Upstate Medical University’s children’s health clinic located on Salina Street. Find out more about the Lougen family with the Freedom Bound exhibit at the Onondaga Historical Association . Considered the epicenter of the women’s rights movement, the Finger Lakes region celebrates trailblazers such as Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Iroquois matriarchs who paved the way toward a brighter future for women across the country. Celebrate the forward-thinking female pioneers destinations through Brave Women FLX ’s recommended