Dr. Vasco Smith: Mover, shaker and freedom fighter
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By Florence M. Howard
Published on 10/1/2009
Vasco Albert Smith Jr. was a not-so-gentle warrior with an endearing smile that drew friends and would-be friends closer, a comical but practiced scoff for vanquished foes, and the charm and wit to win the heart of a great woman.
Dr. Vasco Smith: Mover, shaker and freedom fighter
Vasco Albert Smith Jr. was a not-so-gentle warrior with an endearing smile that drew friends and would-be friends closer, a comical but practiced scoff for vanquished foes, and the charm and wit to win the heart of a great woman.
A dentist, former Shelby County commissioner and civil rights activist, Dr. Vasco Smith, 89, died on Monday, Sept. 28 at Methodist University Hospital.
While most people saw him in relation to the love of his life, Maxine Atkins Smith, who served as executive secretary of the Memphis Branch of the NAACP for 33 years and who was his devoted wife for 56 years, Dr. Smith was a mover, shaker and freedom fighter in his own right.
Moreover, says his pastor Dr. Rosalyn Nichols, he had a heart for God. His favorite rejoinder when asked to comment during service at Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church, 2768 Colony Park Dr., was, “I can’t thank Him enough.”
As an active church member, Dr. Smith was well-respected, often quoted and emulated. “The most heartfelt thing for us at Freedom’s Chapel is that Vasco was an example for many of the men of the church in what it means to be a man, husband, father and businessman,” said Nichols. “One man came up to me at (Vasco’s) recent birthday celebration and said, ‘I want to support my wife (who owns her own business) the way Vasco supports his wife.’”
Since the courageous warrior was willing to fight for any cause that he believed in, Nichols too has much to thank him for. “I wouldn’t be in (full-time) ministry if it was not for Vasco Smith. Vasco brought it to the church that I needed to be compensated for the work I do,” she said.
Dr. Smith, the second son of Florence E. Smith and the Rev. Vasco A. Smith, was born Aug. 24, 1920 in Harvard, Ark.
A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School and LeMoyne-Owen College, he grew up in Memphis. He earned a D.D.S. degree from Meharry Medical College in 1945. A veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, he opened his first dental office in Dyersburg, Tenn.
He met Spelman alumna Maxine Atkins in 1949. After a four-year courtship by mail, they wed Sept. 19, 1953 at Metropolitan Baptist Church. Their “marital, political, and movement partnership” lasted 56 years and produced not only social and political change but also a son, Vasco A. Smith III, known as “Smitty.”
Freedom Fighter
A Golden Heritage member of the association, Dr. Smith served as an officer and board member of the Memphis Branch NAACP for over 50 years. He helped desegregate public facilities and attractions, like the Malco Theater, and participated in sit-ins and economic boycotts of Goldsmith’s (now Macy’s) and other stores for equal treatment of customers. He supported the now-historic 1968 Sanitation Strike, and helped organize Black Monday demonstrations to integrate the Memphis City School board and system leadership. For his activism, Dr. Smith was arrested five times. In later years, he protested the appearance of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at a 1998 national lawyers’ conference held in Memphis, and demonstrated outside the local Adam’s Mark Hotel during a national boycott in 2001.
His political activism was not limited to the NAACP. He was an officer and member of the Shelby County Democratic Club and the Democratic Voters’ Council, where he organized and participated in campaigns to elect Blacks to local, state, and federal offices. When he and Maxine returned to Memphis in 1955, they began working in voter registration drives, and Dr. Smith helped to increase the number of Blacks registered to vote from 10,000 to more than 160,000.
Elected official
Elected in 1973 to an at-large position on the Shelby County Quarterly Court – now the Shelby County Board of Commissioners – Dr. Smith was an elected official for 21 years. On the commission, he sponsored and supported bills to help the young, elderly, and indigent through the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission Office and a $60-million-dollar city hospital, the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. In addition, he secured funding for programs such as Legal Services, Meals on Wheels, and Community Services and helped to improve public housing, nursing facilities, health delivery systems, and public education. A champion for this city, he also worked conscientiously to expose corrupt government practices, such as illegal land deals, unfair “merit” raises, and exploitation of the pension system.
Home and Heart
Dr. Smith was a writer and jazz aficionado. The family home on South Parkway served as a center for literary pursuits and music, as well as political and social activities from entertaining striking sanitation workers in 1968 to hosting recent fundraisers for special causes.
As a retiree, Dr. Smith’s greatest joy was taking care of his wife. At the 2008 NAACP Convention in Cincinnati, then 79-year-old Maxine Smith told members of the Memphis delegation that she couldn’t have attended without him. “We take care of each other,” she said.
Dr. Vasco Smith leaves to cherish his memory his beloved wife, Maxine A. Smith; son Smitty; his sisters-in-law Clementine A. Ramsey and Barbara Atkins (Louisville, Ky.), as well as nieces, nephews, godchildren, special daughters and a host of family and friends.
Visitation services will be held on Thursday, Oct.1, from noon to 3 p.m. at R.S. Lewis Funeral Home and from 4-7 p.m. at The LeMoyne-Owen College. Funeral services will be held Friday, Oct. 2, at noon at Metropolitan Baptist Church, 767 Walker Ave.
In lieu of flowers, contributions should be given to Freedom’s Chapel, The LeMoyne-Owen College, the Memphis Branch NAACP, and the National Civil Rights Museum.
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Vasco Smith |
While most people saw him in relation to the love of his life, Maxine Atkins Smith, who served as executive secretary of the Memphis Branch of the NAACP for 33 years and who was his devoted wife for 56 years, Dr. Smith was a mover, shaker and freedom fighter in his own right.
Moreover, says his pastor Dr. Rosalyn Nichols, he had a heart for God. His favorite rejoinder when asked to comment during service at Freedom’s Chapel Christian Church, 2768 Colony Park Dr., was, “I can’t thank Him enough.”
As an active church member, Dr. Smith was well-respected, often quoted and emulated. “The most heartfelt thing for us at Freedom’s Chapel is that Vasco was an example for many of the men of the church in what it means to be a man, husband, father and businessman,” said Nichols. “One man came up to me at (Vasco’s) recent birthday celebration and said, ‘I want to support my wife (who owns her own business) the way Vasco supports his wife.’”
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| In August, Southwest Tennessee Community College opened the Maxine A. Smith Center at 8800 East Shelby Dr., and Dr. Vasco Smith was there to support his wife in the manner in which both were accustomed. (Photo by Earl Stanback) |
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| At the 2009 Freedom Fund Gala, Dr. Vasco Smith shared in the observance of the NAACP’s 100th Birthday Celebration with his wife, Maxine, and (l-r) National NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous, former NAACP head and National Civil Rights Museum Chairman Benjamin L. Hooks, and Herman Morris, former president and CEO of Memphis Light, Gas & Water and past president of the Memphis Branch NAACP. (Photo by Wiley Henry) |
Dr. Smith, the second son of Florence E. Smith and the Rev. Vasco A. Smith, was born Aug. 24, 1920 in Harvard, Ark.
A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School and LeMoyne-Owen College, he grew up in Memphis. He earned a D.D.S. degree from Meharry Medical College in 1945. A veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, he opened his first dental office in Dyersburg, Tenn.
He met Spelman alumna Maxine Atkins in 1949. After a four-year courtship by mail, they wed Sept. 19, 1953 at Metropolitan Baptist Church. Their “marital, political, and movement partnership” lasted 56 years and produced not only social and political change but also a son, Vasco A. Smith III, known as “Smitty.”
Freedom Fighter
A Golden Heritage member of the association, Dr. Smith served as an officer and board member of the Memphis Branch NAACP for over 50 years. He helped desegregate public facilities and attractions, like the Malco Theater, and participated in sit-ins and economic boycotts of Goldsmith’s (now Macy’s) and other stores for equal treatment of customers. He supported the now-historic 1968 Sanitation Strike, and helped organize Black Monday demonstrations to integrate the Memphis City School board and system leadership. For his activism, Dr. Smith was arrested five times. In later years, he protested the appearance of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at a 1998 national lawyers’ conference held in Memphis, and demonstrated outside the local Adam’s Mark Hotel during a national boycott in 2001.
His political activism was not limited to the NAACP. He was an officer and member of the Shelby County Democratic Club and the Democratic Voters’ Council, where he organized and participated in campaigns to elect Blacks to local, state, and federal offices. When he and Maxine returned to Memphis in 1955, they began working in voter registration drives, and Dr. Smith helped to increase the number of Blacks registered to vote from 10,000 to more than 160,000.
Elected official
Elected in 1973 to an at-large position on the Shelby County Quarterly Court – now the Shelby County Board of Commissioners – Dr. Smith was an elected official for 21 years. On the commission, he sponsored and supported bills to help the young, elderly, and indigent through the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission Office and a $60-million-dollar city hospital, the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. In addition, he secured funding for programs such as Legal Services, Meals on Wheels, and Community Services and helped to improve public housing, nursing facilities, health delivery systems, and public education. A champion for this city, he also worked conscientiously to expose corrupt government practices, such as illegal land deals, unfair “merit” raises, and exploitation of the pension system.
Home and Heart
Dr. Smith was a writer and jazz aficionado. The family home on South Parkway served as a center for literary pursuits and music, as well as political and social activities from entertaining striking sanitation workers in 1968 to hosting recent fundraisers for special causes.
As a retiree, Dr. Smith’s greatest joy was taking care of his wife. At the 2008 NAACP Convention in Cincinnati, then 79-year-old Maxine Smith told members of the Memphis delegation that she couldn’t have attended without him. “We take care of each other,” she said.
Dr. Vasco Smith leaves to cherish his memory his beloved wife, Maxine A. Smith; son Smitty; his sisters-in-law Clementine A. Ramsey and Barbara Atkins (Louisville, Ky.), as well as nieces, nephews, godchildren, special daughters and a host of family and friends.
Visitation services will be held on Thursday, Oct.1, from noon to 3 p.m. at R.S. Lewis Funeral Home and from 4-7 p.m. at The LeMoyne-Owen College. Funeral services will be held Friday, Oct. 2, at noon at Metropolitan Baptist Church, 767 Walker Ave.
In lieu of flowers, contributions should be given to Freedom’s Chapel, The LeMoyne-Owen College, the Memphis Branch NAACP, and the National Civil Rights Museum.