William Haywood Phillips
All observers of race progress in the South in recent years have noted with interest the success which has attended the younger professional men, especially doctors and dentists. It is but fair to say of these that they represent the best and most intelligent types of the race. Most of them are college men and have had to equip themselves professionally to stand the same examinations by the same boards that the white physicians and dentists have had to pass. Among their number must be mentioned Dr. William Haywood Phillips, a successful dentist of Wilson. He is a native of Raleigh, having been born there December 23, 1890. His parents were Frank H. and Margaret (Bennett) Phillips. His maternal grandmother was Margaret Bennett.
Dr. Phillips was married November 30, 1918, to Miss Jewel Jennifer, of Washington, D. C. She is a daughter of William and S. L. Jennifer, and was educated at Washington, where prior to her marriage she taught.
Growing up in Raleigh, young Phillips attended the lecal public schools and did his college work at St. Augustine. He was graduated at that institution in 1910 and entered Meharry for his dental course, winning his D. D. S. degree in 1916. While working through his collegiate and dental courses he was accustomed to spend his summer vacations at the North doing hotel and other work. In this way he was able to complete his course without a break and thus came into the practice of his profession at the age of twenty-six. He was led to take up the profession of dentistry by tine condition which prevailed among his people a few years ago. He had an opportunity to observe this condition while in college and noted that the white dentists did not cater to colored work and that there were not enough colored dentists to serve the people properly.
After completing his studies, he established himself at Wilson, where he has built up a practice and become identified with the business and professional life of that growing city.
In politics he is a Republican, though he has not been active. He was popular as a student and was an enthusiastic player of football and tennis. He has had an opportunity to travel extensively in America and his favorite reading, next after that which bears upon his profession, is history. He is a member of the Episcopalian Church, but does not affiliate with the secret orders. During the war he volunteered for service and was commissioned First Lieutenant in the Dental Reserve Corps. From his observation and experience with conditions both North and South, in the city and in the country, he believes that the greatest single need of the race is the right sort of education.
Source: History of the American Negro and His Institutions, North Carolina Edition, Volume IV, by Arthur Bunyan Caldwall, 1921; Pgs. 39-40
