People, Locations, Episodes

Wendell Cotton, Orthodontist born

Wendell N. Cotton

*On this date, in 1922, Wendell Cotton was born. He was a Black dentist, community activist, and the first Black Orthodontist to open a private practice west of the Mississippi River.

From North Little Rock, Arkansas, Wendell Napoleon Cotton was the only child of Jewel Cotton. He did not know his father’s name until his mother told him just before she died in 1972. His favorite pastime was reading the dictionary. As a result of this early devotion to the sounds and meanings of words, his mastery of the English language opened many doors of opportunity for him throughout his life.

Cotton graduated from Dunbar High School in North Little Rock, Arkansas 1936. He chose West Virginia State College (WVS), where he graduated in 1942 with a major in psychology. At West Virginia State College, Wendell met his wife of 65 years, Lurline Elizabeth Pearson, from Charleston, S.C. The two had two children, Gayle, born in 1944, and Wendell Pearson, born in 1947. Cotton served in World War II, entering the Army Air Corps with fellow West Virginia State graduate and Tuskegee Airman George “Spanky” Roberts. Both were stationed at Tuskegee briefly in December of 1942.

Transferred to Fort Monmouth, N.J., in January of 1943, Cotton enrolled in the Army Specialized Training Program in Dentistry through the University of Illinois Dental School. He was mentored by University of Illinois professor Dr. Renfro, one of a handful of black professors of dentistry at that time. After graduating from Dental School, Cotton was selected to participate in the first orthodontics program at the University of California’s Dental School in San Francisco, California. Cotton drove to Berkeley, California, in September of 1947, when many states were still under Jim Crow laws. Driving straight through with his young family, he completed the trip and settled into his new life in California.

Cotton graduated from Orthodontic school in 1949 and opened his office in Oakland, California, becoming the first black orthodontist to open a private practice west of the Mississippi River. 8 years later, Dr. Cotton relocated his practice and family to Los Angeles in 1957. In 1963, Cotton moved his practice to Lompoc, California, a small town beneficial for him and his wife until he retired in 1984. Throughout those years, they were involved in the NAACP, marched with Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin L. King, Jr., and inspired his children and all those who knew them.

In 1986, the Cottons moved to Dallas, TX. It did not take them long to start another career in modeling, TV commercial work, and extras on several Dallas television shows and movies. (Texas Ranger, Dallas). Failing health in 2005 caused them to relocate to Atlanta, GA. Wendell Cotton died in February 2008, nine days shy of his 86th birthday. He was given a full Tuskegee Airman Funeral.