became dentists, with the seven grandchildren bringing the total of Marable dentists to 10–all of which attended HBCUS– including: Dr. Lawrence Marable , General Dentist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 1981 Dr. Stanley Marable , General Dentist (Retired) Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 1983, Dental School: Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, 1987 Dr. Michael Marable , General Dentist Undergraduate: University of Georgia, 1979, Dental School: Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, 1990 Dr. Tu-Wanda Marable Martin, Pediatric Dentist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 1998, Dental School: Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, 2002 Dr. Ulysses Marable III , General Dentist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 2001, Dental School: Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, 2005
Dr. Henry Marable , General Dentist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 2003, Dental School: Howard University College of Dentistry, 2007 Dr. Dawnyetta Marable Hixson , Oral & Maxillofacial Pathologist / Oral Medicine Specialist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 2001, Medical School: Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine, 2006, Dental School: Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, 2010 Dr. Dianah Marable Dukes, General Dentist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 2007, Dental School: Howard University College of Dentistry, 2011 Dr. Johnny Gosier , Endodontist Undergraduate: Fort Valley State University, 2008, Dental School: Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry, 2012 Dr. Tamerah Marable , Pediatric Dentist Undergraduate: Tennessee State University, 2011, Dental School: Howard University College of Dentistry, 2016
Education Foundation, HBCUs graduate 70% of Black doctors and dentists while the American Dental Association found that Black dentists in the U.S. make up less than 4% of the population. That statistic was much less 50 years ago. The Marable family has been helping to change that statistic one cousin, one niece, one generation at a time. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, there was a big push to increase the pool of Black dentists as they made up 1% of the profession. The first Marable to become a dentist, Dr. Lawrence Marable, was introduced to the idea of dentistry and encouraged by his friend at Fort Valley State University, now, Dr. Keith McRae. Since the early 1980s, the Marables have singlehandedly diversified the dental industry. Dentistry as Entrepreneurship The self-proclaimed baby of the Marable dentists just opened her own practice this year called Tiny Roots, a play on her grandparents’ farming legacy and her pediatric dentistry expertise.
Filling a Need for 70 Years and Counting While one family member is retired, and one serves in the Army as a dentist, six Marables are in private practice throughout Georgia and two in South Carolina. Some have chosen to practice in remote areas where Black dentists, or dentists of any race are hard to come by. “My county of 20-30,000 people does not have a dentist’s office,” said Dr. Ulysses Marable III. “The county next door has a population of 15,000 with no dentist, and another has 16,000 with one dental office. There is a huge disparity we are trying to address. There are no Black dentists other than myself in central Georgia or 20 miles southwest from here.” He is referring to counties in Georgia like Macon which is 85% Black, Crawford which is 90% white, and Peach County which is divided equally between the two races–all which are in large need of dental services and serve as opportunities for students considering dentistry and professionals seeking private practice locations.
“What our grandparents cultivated years ago, we’re still
According to the Southern
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