When Jessie Gideon Garnett first showed up at Tufts University’s School of Dental Medicine, she was told by a dean that her acceptance must have been a mistake. Undaunted, she became Boston's first female African American dentist! #BlackHistoryMonth @universalhub @HUBhistory

As one of 11 women in the Tufts dental program in 1919, and the only African American woman at that, Garnett stood out in what was largely considered a man’s profession

Garnett and her practice persevered through World War I, the Great Depression, and later World War II. During World War II she welcomed soldiers to stay at her home on 80 Monroe Street, which doubled as her practice. https://repository.library.northeastern.edu/files/neu:128670

Jessie ran her practice out of her home, so she could practice dentistry, while also caring for her children.

Jessie moved to Roxbury when she was 11 years old. Her family was from Nova Scotia. When they arrived in Roxbury, she noticed that they didn't look like their neighbors. Today more than half of Roxbury residents are black, but in the 1890s, the neighborhood was primarily white.

Jessie attended the Hyde School and Girls’ High School before entering Tufts University. She belonged to the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and worshiped at St. Mark’s Congregational Church.

In 1920, she married Robert Charles Garnett. Robert was also a groundbreaker. He became one of Boston’s first African American police officers after the Boston Police Strike of 1919.

In 1919, Boston's police force had been denied the right to unionize for decades. Wages had not been raised in decades, and members of the force demanded better pay and safer working conditions.

After negotiations were unsuccessful, 3/4 of the force went on strike. Military, guards, and student volunteers standing in for the police were harassed by those petitioning for a revamped police force. This photo shows National Guardsmen at Faneuil Hall during the strike

After the strike ended, the City desperately needed police officers, but applicants still underwent strict examinations. When Robert Garnett came up three pounds short on his physical examination, he drank an excessive amount of cod liver oil to quickly gain the weight!

Garnett valued her right to vote and the growing influence of African American politicians, but wasn't involved herself in politics or prominent social movements. She dedicated herself to her work and to her family.

Though Jessie was committed to her work, some of her patients initially doubted her abilities, even going so far as to ask for a “real dentist” upon seeing who would be performing their dental procedures.

One man’s insistence was cut short when Garnett, knowing she had to rectify a toothache, injected him with Novocaine and he promptly slid off his chair. Waking up dazed and pain-free, he sheepishly told Garnett, “I guess you are a dentist.”

Garnett took pride in serving her community. She practiced dentistry for half a century before arthritis made it difficult for her to hold her instruments. Dr. Jessie Gideon Garnett passed away in 1976.

Want to read more about Dr. Jessie Gideon Garnett’s life in her own words? Check out the transcript of her oral history! https://cityofboston.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_91e6f63f-64d5-452a-a7a3-807d57689c3f/