Herman Aladdin Barnett III (January 22, 1926 – May 27, 1973) was an American fighter pilot, surgeon and anesthesiologist.
After leaving the military, Herman Barnett attended Samuel Huston College in Austin, Texas, which he received his baccalaureate degree from with high honors in 1948.
Prior to his application, on April 27, 1949, Barnett participated in a protest march which covered both the University of Texas campus as well as the state legislature.
Carter Wesley, the Sweatt Victory Fund, and Lone Star State Medical and Pharmaceutical Association had pledged to raise money to file suit if UTMB had denied his admission on a basis of race.
There was a stipulation to the acceptance though, technically Barnett would be a student at Texas State University for Negroes (TSUN), but would attend UTMB at Galveston under a contract between the schools.
On July 12 a sheriff's deputy, John Connor stopped Barnett for excessive speeding and proceeded to beat him unconscious.
When Barnett awoke he found himself bloodied in a squad car driving towards Jefferson Davis Ross, the local justice of the peace.
The deputies couldn't believe that he was a graduate from UTMB, and they assumed Barnett's possession of a class ring was due to thievery.
[3] In 1968, appointed by John Connally, Dr. Barnett became the first African-American to serve on the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners.
[3] Barnett was on his way to an air show sponsored by the Negro Airmen's International Convention when his plane was caught in unexpected crosswinds and went down.