George Dawson

Background

Dawson was born in Marshall, Texas, in 1898 as the first of five children, a farmer"s son, and grandson and great-grandson of African-American slaves.

Career

His life story, Life Is So Good, was published in 2000. One of his earliest childhood memories, he later said, was watching a 17-year-old black boy being lynched after being "accused of impregnating a white girl." His job at a saw mill supported a large family. At the sawmill, his employer convinced him to sign an X on a paper he could not read, which he later surmised must have made some claim that he was ineligible for military service.

After turning 21, he traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In 1928, after nine years of travel and work, he returned to find his family had moved away, leaving no clue as to their new home: "I wondered why they hadn’t let me know. Then again, how would they have found me? Even if they’d known where I was, I wouldn’t have been able to read their letter."

In 1938, he took a job with a dairy, where he worked until his retirement at the age of 79.

When Dawson was aged about 98, a man was making door-to-door visits on behalf of a local adult education program Dawson overcame his initial reluctance to reveal his illiteracy, telling himself, "All your life you’ve wanted to read.

Dawson learned to read and even went on to study for his General Educational Development at the age of 103.

He died on July 5, 2001, after suffering a stroke. His autobiography, Life Is So Good (co-written with Richard Glaubman), was published in 2000 and received attention in the national media. He appeared on Oprah and told his story in the June 2001 issue of the inspirational magazine Guideposts.

Dawson was posthumously honored when the Carroll Independent School District named a middle school after him in Southlake.

Connections

teacher:

Carl Henry