#71 DR. LINDA THORNTON: ONE OF DENTISTRY'S FIRST BLACK WOMEN

Welcome Dr. Linda Thornton to The Mark Howley Show! Tune in today for this inspiring TRUE story! Dr. Thornton is the first female trained black prosthodontist (aka she is an expert in dentures) and a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Dental Corps. She grew up in a poor family in New Jersey as the youngest of five girls. Her father was determined to educate his daughters and support them in becoming doctors. Their story feels oddly similar to the infamous tennis athletes of the Williams sisters.    To raise funds for college, the family started a band The Thornton Sisters which became so successful they sang alongside The Supremes. Her father worked many jobs like ditch digging that led to many of the connections landing them gigs in prestigious universities. Her mother did all the costume creation and managed the entire family while working. All five of the sisters indeed became physicians and their story inspired a book, The Ditchdigger's Daughters later turned into a movie starring Carl Lumbly who was cast as their father. They appeared on the Oprah show as a result of their fame as their story gained more traction. Dr. Thornton is currently on the staff of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) where she is in the process of starting a business DanTass (named after her parents) to help students through the expensive process of becoming a doctor.    Her joy for life, her passion for dentistry and incredible personality captivated us from the beginning. Tune in today for this inspiring TRUE story.