PERSONAL HISTORY

In a less enlightened Florida, he found room to achieve

The second in a series of first-person stories appearing in February, Black History Month.

Interview by Jeff Klinkenberg, Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001

[Times photo: Jamie Francis] JOSEPH JACKSON JR.: “I was proud to be at Martin Luther King Jr.’s old school. Morehouse encouraged racial pride. . . . the feeling that you could accomplish anything you set your mind to.”

Joseph Jackson Jr. has been a Pinellas County orthodontist since 1974. He was born in Orlando in 1943 and attended segregated public schools in Central Florida. He graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta and Howard University College of Dentistry in Washington D.C. He is an Air Force veteran and is married; his grown son, Jaih, is a dentist in Plant City.

This is his story.

My parents were well educated at a time when a lot of people, black and white, were not always educated. My father got his undergraduate degree from Florida A&M and his master's from Indiana University. My mother got her master's degree from the University of South Florida and her doctorate from the University of Florida.

My father and mother split up when I was 11; my uncle, B.H. Evans, was my father figure. He was tough. He was loving -- we used to fish all day on the St. Johns River for bass -- but he was a stern disciplinarian. He'd sent five of his own children through college. He had high expectations for me. He was also a staunch Republican. Tell me that wasn't unusual for a black man back then!

My grandmother, Ardella, was my biggest supporter. She lived at Atlantic Beach, near Jacksonville. I'd spend summers with her. I went to her for hugs. She knew everybody in her community. One of her friends was the white sheriff -- believe me, that was unusual for Florida when I was growing up. At the end of the summer, I'd go home full of love and confidence.

Black History Month

My mother -- her name is Susie -- was a teacher at my elementary school. I didn't get away with anything and worked hard. In high school I was one of the top students in my class; at Morehouse College there were many smart kids. I majored in biology and chemistry and had to turn it up a notch.

I was proud to be at Martin Luther King Jr.'s old school. Morehouse encouraged racial pride. Not Black Power, but the feeling that you could accomplish anything you set your mind to, that even the racial prejudice you might encounter would not keep you from achieving. This was important during the Civil Rights movement.

At one time I wanted to be a veterinarian, but the first time I looked in the college catalog for veterinary school I saw a photo of a dissected chicken. I don't know why -- something unpleasant must have happened between me and a chicken when I was a kid -- but that was enough for me to decide against being a vet. Even now I think I'd rather handle an alligator than a live chicken.

I decided to practice in Pinellas County because there was a good atmosphere -- black medical practitioners had a history of being accepted by the white and the black community. I'm a lucky man: I love doing what I do. I get to work with mostly young people who are actually happy to see me -- I'm going to give them a perfect smile.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.