Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 06/Dr. Charles Alexander Dunston

Biography

Dr. Charles Alexander Dunston was born on May 28, 1872, in Raleigh North Carolina. He is the only son of Charles H. and Eliza Taylor Dunston. He was married to Alice Jackson and was the father of Charles Francis Dunston. Dr. Charles Dunston spent his life doing several things. He went from working in a barbershop to becoming a dentist, and a few other things in between. One of the things he did between working in a barbershop and becoming a dentist was teaching at a public school in Wilmington for a few years. After teaching, he decided that he was going to go to dental school. He switched jobs quite often and went to different institutions to obtain these jobs due to his desire to want more education. He became interested in his final job: dentistry, by realizing that there weren’t, but two or three black medical doctors in all of Raleigh. So, he went to Meharry Medical College to take a course in dentistry. Meharry was a college responsible for increasing the number of African American dentists in the United States. Meharry Medical College was also responsible for providing many faculty and alumni of their institution for the establishment of the National Negro Medical Association. They were heavily responsible for the establishment of the organization. The different things he did in his lifetime contributed to his decisions and ultimately what he wanted to do for the rest of his life: dentistry. He found his success in attending Meharry Medical College, as well as becoming president and chairman of the many medical associations he was a part of.

Early Life

In Dunston’s early life, his father, Charles H., was a barber and earned a comfortable living from it. His father exclusively worked in shops that catered to white men. During the early 1900s, the clientele were mostly white men due to racism, and that black barbers used the same instruments on white people as they would black people. Black people were often uncomfortable with this practice of using the same tools on white people and black people, therefore, black people never really went to black barbers with white clientele. Dunston had made up his mind that he would become a barber, just like his father. He worked various jobs from helping in his father’s shop to lathering in other barbershops when finally, he decided he was going to work for his father indefinitely. Eventually, Dunston, and another barber, Ferry Noble, decided they were going to open their own barbershop. Later, around 1907, Charles Dunston decided he would sell his barbershop to pursue a college education.

College Education

Charles had gotten enough education to be able to go to college. To pursue his interest in dentistry, in 1907 at 35 years old, he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and enrolled at Meharry Dental College at Walden University. Meharry was predominantly black and produced the most black dental graduates along with Howard University’s dental college. Dunston graduate Meharry in 1911.

Meharry Medical College

In 1876, the Meharry Medical College was founded due to a $20,000 gift by the Meharry brothers: Hugh, Alexader, Jesse, David, and Samuel. This college, along with Howard University, has been responsible for educating most black dentists in the US. However, once the Great Depression hit in the late 1920s, the number of black dental students in the universities greatly decreased. The numbers were unsatisfactory compared to the numbers enrolled in the previous years.

Family

Shortly after opening his dental clinic, he married Alice Jackson and had a child. His child graduated high school and was indecisive just like his father. He went to college multiple times and obtained degrees in different areas of study.

Medical Association Affiliations

Dr. Dunston served as president of the National Negro Dental Association and the North State Dental Association. These organizations were created due to the exclusion of black medical professionals in white organizations. The black organizations aimed to obtain free medical and dental treatment for all citizens in the US if they were unable to pay for treatment. However, Dr. Dunston was opposed to this due to his belief that citizens would take advantage of the free treatment, as people often want something for nothing.

Summary

Dr. Dunston learned the black barber trade, opened his own barbershop, became the biggest shop in the city, then sold his part in the shop, taught public school for a few years, became a dentist, opposed free medical attention prompted by the government, wanted education to promote relations and understanding between races, resented racial discrimination, and valued but didn’t have much faith in politics in all his lifetime. Dr. Charles Alexander Dunston later died around 1941 around the age of 68.

References

African American Registry. n.d. The National Negro Medical Association Begins. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://aaregistry.org/story/the-national-negro-medical-association-begins/.

CHAAMP Resources. 2013. "Meharry Medical College." CHAAMP Resources: A scholarly collection of resources on the rich history of African Americans in the medical professions. March 5. Accessed July 10, 2020. https://chaamp.virginia.edu/node/3514.

Clifton, O. Dummett. 1959. "The Negro in Dental Education: A Review of Important Occurrences." The Phylon Quarterly (Clark Atlanta University) 20: 379-388.

Dummett, Clifton O. 2004. Dentistry in the African American Community. February 16. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://www.dentistryiq.com/dental-hygiene/student-hygiene/article/16352009/dentistry-in-the-african-american-community.

Dunston, Dr. Charles Alexander. n.d. "Folder 807: No author: Dr. Charles Alexander Dunston." UNC University Libraries: Federal Writers Project. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/03709/id/1066/rec/1.

Find a Grave. n.d. Dr Charles A. Dunston. Accessed July 8, 2020. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51333600/charles-a_-dunston.

Mather, Frank Lincoln. 1915. Who's who of the Colored Race: A General Biographical Dictionary of Men and Women of African Descent. Vol. 1, edited by Frank Lincoln Mather, 97. Chicago: Chicago Illustrated.