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The Gainsboro History Project

Dr. Harry T. Penn

Dr. Harry Theodore Penn (1902-1963) was not only a respected local dentist, but also a leader in local politics and an advocate for civil rights. Born in Lynchburg, Virginia, he attended Virginia Seminary and Howard University’s School of Dentistry, earning his Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 1931. That same year, he moved to Roanoke and opened a private practice in Gainsboro at 129 N. Henry Street. Dr. Penn served as a trustee for Burrell Memorial Hospital and was the chief of oral surgery there.

Dr. Penn was a president and board chairman of Burrell Memorial Hospital, and he served terms as president for the National Dental Association, the Old Dominion Dental Society, and the Western District Dental Society.

A group of men in suits with Dr. Harry Penn shaking a man's hand
Dr. Harry Penn, front, center, at Burrell Memorial Hospital. Courtesy of Roanoke Public Libraries

Public Service and Community Involvement

Dr. Penn was an active community member and was involved in local politics. He served on the city’s Democratic Executive Committee and in 1942 he was the first African American to run for city council in Roanoke, although this bid and subsequent attempts in 1944 and 1952 were unsuccessful. However, in 1948 Dr. Penn was appointed to the Roanoke City School Board, becoming the first African American on any school board in the South. He served on the school board until 1951.

“In a 1962 newspaper article, Penn expressed the need for equality in government jobs and the need for respect. ‘I should like to witness a change of attitude and respect for the Negro in our state and city,’ he wrote. ‘If we are to expect the best from those who are among us, then those individuals must be given an opportunity to display their fine qualities.” – The Roanoke Times, February 6, 2006

Dr. Penn supported many civic organizations within Gainsboro and the larger Roanoke community. He served as president for the following organizations:

  • Roanoke Civic League
  • United Citizens Council
  • Roanoke Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
  • Dinner Club of Roanoke

He also belonged to the Roanoke chapter of the NAACP, the Teachers Dental Association, the state planning committee for the United Negro College Fund, and was a director of the Hunton Branch YMCA.

Civil Rights Activism

Dr. Penn is remembered by the Gainsboro community for his commitment to racial justice and his activism against segregation. He was a member of the Biracial committee which helped to further civil rights changes in Roanoke. When a white police officer shot at a Black man on Patton Avenue in 1942, Dr. Penn, along with C.C. Williams rallied city officials to have the officer removed from the Gainsboro beat. In 1961 he threatened to leave Roanoke for Washington D.C., publicly citing his disgust with the anti-integrationist policies of Virginia’s then-senator Harry Byrd, who led the “massive resistance” movement against Brown V. Board of Education. He stated that after living in a segregated society for 50 years he was ready to live in a place with less restrictive segregation.

See Also

  1. Medicine in Gainsboro
  2. Burrell Memorial Hospital

Sources

City ‘cop’ shoots to see innocent Negro lad run. (1942, May 15). The Roanoke Tribune.

Dr. H. T. Penn, Negro leader, found dead. (1963, May 10). The Roanoke Times.

Dr. Harry Penn makes adieux: Roanoke civic leader is leaving “with regrets…”. (1961, September 9). New Journal and Guide.

Harper, M. G. (2006, Feb. 26). Dr. Harry T. Penn: Man about town. The Roanoke Times.

Prominent Va. dentist. (1963, May 11). New Journal and Guide.