Emerson Emory, M.D.

Emerson Emory always wanted to be a doctor. His mother told him the idea all began at the age of five when their family physician gave him a shot to treat his case of diphtheria. In elementary school, Emory and his friend, Bill Kinniebrew, would add the title "Dr." to their names when they were called to the blackboard, a practice they continued into high school. Emerson Emory not only realized his dream but lived a life that fulfilled the motto of his college class, "Deeds, not Words."

Emerson Emory was born in Dallas on January 29, 1925, to Corry Bates Emory and Louise Linthicum Emory. He graduated from B. F. Darrell Elementary School and Booker T. Washington High School. Pursuing his dream of a medical career, Emory entered Prairie View College to study biology. World War II interrupted his education, and on his 18th birthday he enlisted in the U. S. Army. Dr. Emory served in the Quartermaster Corps in Europe and the Pacific Theater.

Upon completion of his military service he resumed his education, obtaining an undergraduate pre-medical degree at Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1948 and his M.D. degree at Meharry Medical College, Nashville, in 1952. The first internship for an African-American in Dallas awaited Dr. Emory at St. Paul’s Hospital upon his return from Tennessee. He completed his residency at St. Paul’s in 1954. The next two years took him to California for residency programs, first at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, and then at Wadsworth General Hospital (Veterans Administration) in Los Angeles. Returning to Texas in July, 1956, Dr. Emory served as staff physician at the Veterans Administration Medical Centers in McKinney and Dallas. He began his Dallas private practice, specializing in internal medicine, in 1960. From 1966 through 1969, Dr. Emory was a Fellow in Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He served as Staff Psychiatrist for the Terrell State Hospital and Chief of Psychiatric Services at the Federal Correctional Institution in Seagoville before resuming his private practice in 1972 to which he added psychiatry in addition to internal medicine. Dr. Emory’s office was located in South Dallas where he was greatly needed. He was noted for helping anyone that required medical care, especially those with drug addictions.

Dr. Emory’s medical practice was not limited to the Dallas area. As the first African-American physician to volunteer for the American Medical Association’s Volunteer Physicians for Viet Nam project, he served a 60-day tour in 1966, administering medical care to an average of 75 Vietnamese civilians a day. Emory also served as a volunteer physician for the Texas State Legislature (1970) and at Paul Quinn College, Waco and Dallas.

Dr. Emory spent 30 years in the United States Naval Reserve, retiring as Captain in the Medical Corps in 1979. The Reserve provided an opportunity for training in military medicine, including aviation, amphibious and submarine medicine, and the treatment of diving casualties. Dr. Emory was instrumental in founding the National Naval Officers Association to support the recruitment, retention, and career development of naval officers of all races. He also served as a member of the Congressional Selection Committee for the U.S. Naval Academy.

Never one to stand on the sidelines, Dr. Emory was active in politics, civil rights, and community affairs. In the 1970s, he was a candidate in several local political races, running for Dallas mayor, Dallas City Council, and a seat in the Texas State Legislature. His dedication to community service resulted in leadership positions in several Dallas organizations. In 1970, he was a delegate to the White House Conference on Children and became the first black president of the Dallas Council of the United Service Organization (USO). He was instrumental in the preservation of Freedman’s Cemetery in Dallas, a long abandoned cemetery. As executive director of the Dallas Branch of the Southern Leadership Conference in 1993, he campaigned for an adult drug treatment facility in South Dallas, the needs of the homeless, and voting rights for people released from prison. He was also a volunteer for the Black Citizens for Justice, Law and Order. Dr. Emory was a constant voice for justice for minorities. Believing litigation was more effective than demonstrations, he filed lawsuits against the City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School District, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. "I’m not into picketing…," he commented. "…when you force people to spend money, it forces them to the table."

Another civic interest of Dr. Emory’s was the Sons of Confederate Veterans. As a descendent of a Confederate officer, Captain Henry C. Hancock, Company A, 17th Texas Cavalry, he joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans and became Commander of the Gaston-Gregg Camp in Dallas. "Some of my friends think I’m crazy," he chuckled. "But I am sort of a history buff. And I’ve found the SCV to be a very interesting organization. Mostly, we study our heritage." In 1998, Dr. Emory garnered nationwide attention over the dedication of the African-American Civil War Memorial in Washington, which pays homage to 185,000 black Union soldiers. He had received permission to read a poem at the dedication ceremony, one he had written in honor of the memorial, and to place a wreath on behalf of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The invitation was withdrawn. Undaunted, Emory was determined to carry out his mission. He and a friend visited the monument in the dead of night. Dressed in red, white, and blue, Dr. Emory read his poem and laid the wreath. "I don’t know how long that wreath stayed there," he said, "but I’m satisfied that it was done."

Dr. Emory’s labors resulted in many laurels. Among them are: Department of State, Agency for International Development Humanitarian Award (1966); Outstanding Achievement in Race Relations by the Interdenominational Ministers’ Alliance (1969); Committee of 100 Award in Medicine by the Dallas Negro Chamber of Commerce (1973); "Dallas Living Legend" by the Junior Black Academy of Arts and Letters (1990); inclusion in Marquis’ Who’s Who in the World (1991/1992); and a certificate presented by President Clinton honoring his World War II service (1995).

Dr. Emory stood firm in his beliefs, regardless if they reflected popular opinion. Living life to the fullest as a participant rather than a spectator, he took guitar lessons, wanted to play the bagpipes, attended law school, loved bright-colored clothes, wrote poetry, and traveled all over the world, including Cuba. On January 28, 2003, just a day short of his 78th birthday, Emerson Emory passed away in Dallas. Three days later, he was buried in his U.S. Naval Reserve captain’s uniform. He is survived by his son, Emerson "Rusty" Emory, Jr., daughters Karon Hutcheson and Sharon Emory, and former wife, Peggy Emory.

During the ensuing year, three boxes of Dr. Emory’s papers were donated to Special Collections by his estate. The materials provide significant insight, not only into Dr. Emory’s life and activities, but to the broader African-American community in Dallas as well. The papers range in date from 1908 to 2003 (the bulk falling between 1943 and 2003) and include correspondence, Dr. Emory’s writings, photographs, certificates, newspaper clippings, keepsakes, and printed materials. The oldest item is a letter written on July 19, 1908, to his grandmother, Annie Linthicum, from a Nacogdoches friend, Gertrude Jones. The most recent item is Dr. Emory’s funeral service pamphlet.

World War II materials figure prominently in Dr. Emory’s papers. They include his Life in the Service keepsake book, on the cover of which he affixed a winged German insignia. Within its pages, he kept family photographs and newspaper clippings and recorded names of "buddies o’mine," his enlistment record, and favorite songs. There are a handful of wartime letters written home to his parents. One penned to his mother on August 21, 1944, is particularly poignant. Awaiting deployment overseas, he reflected on how he used to love to play with his father’s World War I steel helmet and gas mask. He talked of white soldiers "getting all of the glory of capturing towns," but how the work of "labor battalions" was so instrumental in their success. He asked his mother to "be proud of me – and every other colored person in uniform for even though they aren’t given a square deal they go side by side with the white man over there knowing that when he returns he will continue to ride in the back of buses, be kicked out of cafes which boldly display a ‘For White Only’ sign. For these things be proud that your son is one of those that stays in and without attempting to turn against this American way fights for it."

Tucked inside his World War II Life in the Service keepsake book, Emory kept photos and clippings of family and friends, recorded "buddies o'mine," and a chronology of his military service.

The collection is rich with Dr. Emory’s writings. They include a journal of his volunteer medical mission to Vietnam, editorial letters, and numerous essays. The essays cover a range of topics on African-American history, politics, and social issues. A sampling of essay titles include "AIDS," "Why So Few Black Doctors?," Single Parent Myth: Another Guilt Trip for Blacks," "New Slavery: Blacks and the Justice System," and "Message to Black Men: Never Cop a Plea." In "How I Remember Benny Binion," Dr. Emory reacted to disparaging comments that arose after Binion’s 1989 death in Las Vegas. "I remember Benny as a person who gave my unemployed father a job so that my mother and I could eat. I remember the pride that my father showed whenever he collected his small earnings… I remember the expression of joy on my mother’s face after learning that ten cents of her hard earned money had netted the sum of ten dollars. … I remember the opportunity given to me as a pre-teenager to earn money delivering ‘policy slips’ to the customers. Illegal, maybe, but no more so than the present day football pots." Many of these essays and editorials were written for Freedom’s Journal, a publication for which Emory was editor and publisher. Issued on a monthly basis in the late 1970’s, the 2-to-3 page, letter-size newspaper was distributed at his office and local businesses. Dr. Emory adopted the name Freedom’s Journal, from the first black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States published from 1827 to 1829.

Dr. Emory worked tirelessly to upgrade a Naval Cross to a Congressional Medal of Honor for Waco Navy Mess Attendant SC2, Doris "Dorie" Miller. Miller, the first African-American hero of World War II, was cited for his heroism aboard the U.S.S. West Virginia at Pearl Harbor. A packet supporting Emory’s campaign for Miller’s Medal of Honor is included in his papers. Emory had tremendous interest in the service of African-Americans in the Confederacy. Numerous articles on this topic are also found within the collection. Printed materials include 30 funeral pamphlets of Emory family and friends dating from 1939 to 1978. A pamphlet typically contains an obsequy program, a photograph of the deceased, and detailed biographical information.

Photographic images are also a rich resource in the Emory Papers. Dr. Emory’s career is documented, from his Booker T. Washington High School days, his World War II service, through his professional career. In addition to family snapshots, other photographs include formal portraits of his father, Corry Emory, in his World War I uniform; his mother, Louise Emory; and Dorie Miller. Historical African-American subjects can also be found in Dr. Emory’s papers, namely an unidentified school group and two photographs of what have been identified as the interior of the Smith Drug Store in the State-Thomas area of Dallas.

This is thought to be the Smith Drugs Store in the State-Thomas district of Dallas. Signs advertise Coca-Cola and Schepp's summer Beer. Side display cases are well stocked with bottle tonics, toys, and other wares.

The goal of Dr. Emerson Emory was to live by the motto, "Deeds, not Words." He wrote, "I could not have asked for a better theme to live by; I have pledged to do no less, for I shall pass this way but once." He succeeded in his goal. The gift of Dr. Emerson Emory’s papers to Special Collections allows us to share his journey. The Emory Papers are currently being processed for research use. For further information on the collection, please contact Brenda McClurkin at 817-272-7512 or mcclurkin@uta.edu.

Special Collections
The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
Phone: (817) 272-3393 * Fax: (817) 272-3360 * E-mail: Reference Desk

Deeds, Not Words...Emerson Emory, M.D. By Brenda McClurkin

Deeds, Not Words...Emerson Emory, M.D.
By Brenda McClurkin