THE MARABLES SINK THEIR TEETH INTO FAMILY LEGACY
BY ZERLINE HUGHES SPRUILL
A fter her first two years, Johnnie Mae Jackson Marable had to drop out of Albany State University in Georgia because her family could no longer afford to support her dream of becoming a teacher. It was the early 1940s and southern Black families needed to make tough decisions, sacrificing education for survival. When she met her future husband in 1946, Ulysses Marable, Sr., they committed not only to each other,
but to the cornerstone of family, faith and education, vowing that all 10 of their children would attend–and graduate–from college. Despite his eighth-grade education and his wife’s lack of a college degree, the Marables were entrepreneurs, owned and operated one of Georgia’s largest farms and general store in their community. Because of this, they were able to make good on their promise and started a trend of raising students who would
carry on the family heritage of agriculture at HBCUs. But there was a tiny wrench–or drill–in the plan. “My Uncle Lawrence was the first to pursue a career in dentistry,” said Atlanta dentist, Dr. Tamerah Marable. “My dad, Dr. Stanley Marable, was the second, following in his brother Lawrence’s footsteps. Three of their four sons became dentists, and seven of their grandchildren have also
pursued careers in dentistry, bringing the total to ten dentists in the family.” In addition to the three dentists, the group of siblings also includes five educators, two nurses with entrepreneurships–with eight of the siblings boasting at least one HBCU on their resume. Adding to the legacy of agriculture and animal science scholars, seven offspring of these now professionals, also
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