Dentists for Justice

A museum exhibit on oral health professionals might sound sadistic, but “The Future Is Now! African Americans in Dentistry” is a quick and painless look at a story that includes groundbreaking civil rights work along with the root canal work. Debuting at the California African American Museum, the compact but toothy touring show draws largely on material gathered by Dr. Clifton O. Dummett, author and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the USC School of Dentistry. The display documents more than a century of accomplishment, much of it achieved at a time when blacks were unwelcome in most dental schools and barred from mainstream professional groups. So the next time you hear that drill, think of local heroes such as H. Claude Hudson, DDS, who served as president of the Los Angeles branch of the NAACP and was jailed during the civil rights era for swimming at a segregated beach.

“The Future Is Now! African Americans in Dentistry,” California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles; (213) 744-7432; through Nov. 27.