The J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS) is a chartered affiliate specialty society of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) formally incorporated on August 10, 1998, however its origin truly began with the orthopaedic section of the National Medical Association (NMA) annual meeting in 1950. 

Starting in 1967, these meetings were held yearly, and as the number of orthopaedic surgeons of color increased, it was decided that a meeting should be held at the annual AAOS meetings; this meeting was called the Howard-Meharry Alumni Luncheon, first being held in 1971