Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 06/Dr. S.S. Jackson

Overview
Dr. Samuel S. Jackson (1906-1946) was an African-American dentist, in Athens, Georgia. He studied dentistry in Minnesota and then began working in dental offices in Georgia until opening up his own practice in his hometown during the Jim Crow era.

Biography
Dr. Samuel S. Jackson was born in 1906 to parents Thomas N. Jackson and Sweetie Polain Jackson in Athens, Georgia. He began his schooling in his hometown and finished high school at the Knox Institute. The Knox institute was a private school for African Americans that later school closed in 1928. Segregated institutions like the Knox Institute were prevalent in the Jim Crow Era. Jackson continued to pursue higher education. He attended college in Minnesota, following his high-school graduation. After six years of college, he earned his dental certification. Jackson then began to practice dentistry in Gainesville, Georgia and then, Macon, Georgia. In about 1936, he returned to Athens, Georgia and opened his own office in a black business district. Most likely due to the financial disadvantages that came from owning a practice in a Black area, Dr. S.S. Jackson had no dental assistant in his office, only a secretary. “A Negro Dentist” was an interview conducted by Grace McCune in 1939 where insight was given on the life of Dr. S.S. Jackson. Seven years after the interview, in 1946, Dr. S.S. Jackson died in Athens, Georgia and now lays in Gospel Pilgrim Cemetery. Although he had been married, it ended in divorce, and he died with no children.

Jim Crow America
The Jim Crow Era starting in the 1870s, refers to the time after Reconstruction following the Civil War. Plagued with, “Lynchings [as a] common form of terrorism” against African-Americans, to legislation that segregated blacks and whites. Laws passed in the Jim Crow Era, forced businesses and schools to separate themselves based on the notion of “separate but equal.” We now know that the notion was not the true case with evidence proving “services and facilities for blacks were consistently inferior.” This period also brought about the Great Migration of African-Americans to northern and western regions of the United States in search of more opportunities and less oppression. This does not mean that the North was entirely free of discrimination, segregation was still practiced and enforced in job discrimination, and loans from banks, among other forms. The Jim Crow Era was a dark time in American history.

The Great Depression and Black Opportunities
Following the Civil War, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) saw their upbringings, a major step for higher education among the Black community. Due to the Great Depression, many HBCUs faced financial difficulties and were forced to close. As a result, competition among African-Americans for college admission rose. Some African-Americans opted to search for other jobs that did not require higher education. Unfortunately, Blacks were often “last hired, first fired” from jobs they were able to obtain, increasing the unemployment rates among Blacks to almost 70% in Atlanta, Georgia, and 25% in cities across the North. Due to this lack of employment, many African-Americans migrated from South to North in the Great Migration. The lucky few, like Jackson, opened their own businesses in their towns but still struggled from the economic climate.

Black Dentistry Before and After Jim Crow
In 1869, Dr. Robert Tanner Freeman became the first African-American to earn a dental degree, 90 years after the profession reached American soil. After his achievement, not much was written on Black dentists. Now, more statistics have been able to surface on Black dentists following the Jim Crow era. In 1991, statistics emerged showcasing a low Black presence in dentistry with “only 2.6%of the nation's 142,000 dentists” being Black, a percentage that had remained unchanged since 1970. Concerns for such a low percentage has been raised since evidence shows, Black dentists hold a large share of dental care for minority and underserved communities. Black dentists give representation in a field all see as a necessity, allowing for Black patients to feel comfort and receive the care they need.