Charles Goosby, 83, dentist who fought for fairness

Charles Francis Goosby, 83, broke barriers and made the world a fairer place, all from a dentist’s office.

In 1965, the Georgia Dental Association made Goosby its first African-American member. Goosby was a Morehouse man and a graduate of Meharry Medical College dental school in Nashville.

“It was a tough battle,” Goosby said in a 1998 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“He was a very strong person and believed in the civil rights movement,” Goosby’s wife, Maxine, said Saturday.

In 1948, Goosby went to work for Fulton County, treating African-American children’s teeth in a mobile clinic that was little more than a van. He treated teeth for the county for 51 years, and a dental clinic in Vine City was dedicated to him, his family said Saturday.

Goosby died Tuesday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital of prostate cancer, said his daughter, Angela. The funeral is at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church in Atlanta. Carl M. Williams Funeral Directors is in charge of arrangements.

Goosby is survived by his wife, Maxine; two daughters, Angela East of Austell and Francine Myrick of Atlanta; four grandchildren; and one great-grandson.