Dr. Thomas A. Curtis

Thomas A. Curtis (1862-1943), was born in Marion, Alabama. His parents were slaves, but by earnest toil and study his father Alexander H. Curtis, became State Senator of Alabama and was one of nine former slaves to raise money to buy land for a school. What started out as the Lincoln Normal School eventually became Alabama State University in 1867. His son, Thomas, inherited his father's love for knowledge, and therefore took advantage of every opportunity to develop his mind. He graduated from the State Normal School at Marion, in 1881, and began teaching in his native State. He afterwards went to Texas where he taught for five years. Abandoning the profession of teaching, he entered Meharry Dental College from which he graduated in 1889 with honors, being the best practical dentist of his class. For this excellency he received a gold medal. His success as the first colored dentist of Alabama was marvelous. During the first year of his labor as dentist he earned more than $2,000, and every succeeding year found him making improvements both in proficiency of his profession and increase of his practice. In 1896 he moved to St. Louis, where he practiced for more than forty-five years. He was also a civil rights activist. He helped organize the Urban League and the St. Louis branch of the NAACP, for which he served as president. Sometime in 1910 he helped found the St. Louis Argus. Bio: [Documenting the American South and Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historic Sites By John Aaron Wright]