Powell, C.
POWELL, Dr. C. Clayton
Dr. C. Clayton Powell, hailing from southeastern town of Dothan, AL has built a life of distinction and service in the arenas of scholarship, business, civic life, civil rights, and optometry. His name will be forever associated with the National Optometric Association (NOA) and the Development Authority of Fulton County (DAFC) because of the remarkable legacy he has created.
At his uncle's urging, Dr. Powell moved to Atlanta to live with him and arrived with a strong desire to excel. And excel did he. As a newcomer to Atlanta's prominent Booker T. Washington High School in 1942, Powell swept to a landslide election victory as President of the Student Government, and soared academically to become the salutatorian of the 500-member Class of 1944. Afterward, the prestigious Morehouse College beckoned. Powell entered the Atlanta liberal arts college as a classmate of Martin Luther King, Jr.
His involvements at Morehouse included memberships in Beta Kappa Chi National Scientific Society, Morehouse Glee Club and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, where he served as basileus.
Attracted to a profession rarely pursued by African Americans during those times, Dr. Powell was the only black student in his class when in, 1949, he entered the Illinois College of Optometry, often known as the Chicago College of Optometry. Even there he did not abandon his predilection for boldly making his mark.
Dr. Powell is presently married to the former Deborah Small, and is the father of C. Clayton Powell, Jr., Dr. Rometta E. Powell, stepdaughter, Camille G. Stephens, and the grandfather of Jordan, Arayah, Clayton Powell Lee (C.P.) and Malik. Dr. Powell was predeceased by The Late Honorable Judge Romae Turner Powell.
Dr. Powell is a member of Zion Hill Baptist Church, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, National Optometric Association (NOA), Morehouse National Alumni Association, NAACP, 100 Black Men of America and 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Pine Acres Town and Country Club
A Private Celebration of Life Service for Dr. Clayton will be Sunday, November 1, 2020 at 1 PM, Zion Hill Baptist Church, 6175 Campbellton Rd. SW, Atlanta, GA 30311. A public viewing will be held Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 2 PM - 6 PM, at Willie A. Watkins Historic West End Chapel. A Private Interment will be Monday, November 2, 2020 at 11 AM, at Westview Cemetery. Willie A. Watkins Historic West End Chapel (404)-758-1731.
View the obituary on Legacy.com
Funeral Home Information
Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home-West End Chapel
1003 Ralph D. Abernathy Blvd
Atlanta, GA
30310
https://williewatkins.com/?utm_campaign=legacytraffic&utm_source=legacy&utm_medium=referral
