Spring 2010 - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Spring 2010 - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Spring 2010 - Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
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Jessie Gideon Garnett, opposite page,<br />
was Boston’s first black woman dentist,<br />
practicing out <strong>of</strong> her home on Munroe<br />
Street, right, where a plaque reminds us<br />
<strong>of</strong> her contributions to the city. Above:<br />
Garnett’s daughter, Ella, seated second<br />
from left, with family members at the<br />
Heritage Guild ceremony.<br />
<br />
Jessie Gideon Garnett, D19, opened doors for<br />
African Americans and for women <br />
if she had been even slightly less persistent than she<br />
was, Jessie Gideon Garnett might not have been the first<br />
African-American woman to graduate from <strong>Tufts</strong> <strong>Dental</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>, which she did in 1919. As it was, when she arrived<br />
for registration, the dean <strong>of</strong> the school took one look at her<br />
and declared that her admittance had been a mistake.<br />
“She stood her ground and said, ‘Oh no, here is my<br />
acceptance letter,’ ” says her daughter, Ella Garnett.<br />
It was just an early chapter in a life <strong>of</strong> quiet determination,<br />
one that would be marked by pioneering achievement<br />
and giving back to her community.<br />
Ella Garnett, 85, is unsure why her mother chose to<br />
14 tufts de ntal medicine sp r i n g 20 1 0<br />
PHOTOS: ALONSO NICHOLS, MIDDLEBROOKS PHOTOGRAPHY, AND COURTESY OF ELLA GARNETT