Joseph Edison Walker (March 31, 1879 – July 28, 1958) was a leading African American physician, businessman and religious leader. After graduating from college and medical school, he practiced as a doctor in Mississippi, where he was born and reared. He also became president of a bank and an insurance company serving blacks. In 1920 he moved with his family to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

for more opportunities. With associates he founded the Universal Life Insurance Company in 1923, which became one of the largest black-owned insurance companies in the nation under his leadership through 1952. With his son, in 1946 he founded Tri-State Bank, also of Memphis. He also founded the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, a congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Memphis.

Biography

Walker was born on March 31, 1879 (some sources indicate 1880) in Tillman, Mississippi, within rural Claiborne County. His parents were George and Patsy (Wheeler) Walker, who worked as sharecroppers on a cotton

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

.Ronald A. Walter, "Joseph Edison Walker"
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2012 He attended local schools and his parents encouraged him to gain an education. In 1903, Walker graduated from Alcorn College in

Lorman, Mississippi Lorman is an unincorporated community located in Jefferson County, Mississippi, United States. Lorman is approximately north of Fayette, near Highway 61 on Mississippi Highway 552. Lorman is the nearest community to Alcorn State University, ...

. He graduated from medical school at

Meharry Medical College Meharry Medical College is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Medical school in the United States, medical school affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Nashville, Te ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Both are

historically black colleges Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. ...

. He returned to Mississippi, where he started a medical practice in Indianola. He worked there from 1906 to 1919.

Marriage and family

On October 26, 1906, he married Lela O'Neal. They had two children, Johnetta Elmo Walker Kelso (June 14, 1907 – January 5, 1995) and Antonio Maceo Walker (June 7, 1909 – June 8, 1994), both born in Indianola. They had a long life together, and Lela died in 1954. At the age of 78, Walker secretly married Louise S. O'Reilly, a 30-year-old school teacher, on September 28, 1957.

Medical and business career

Walker met other educated black men in the Delta, and looked at developing business opportunities to serve the needs of his people. In 1912 he was selected as president of the Delta Penny Savings Bank, one of the businesses started by black people.In 1917 he was elected president of the Mississippi Life Insurance Company. Following the company's move to

in 1920, Walker also moved his family to that city. Together with A. W. Willis, and Dr. J. T. Wilson, he founded the Universal Life Insurance Company in Memphis, serving as its president until 1952. Under his leadership, it became one of the largest black-owned insurance companies in the country."A. Maceo Walker, prominent business leader, activist, 85, dies"
''Jet'', June 27, 1994. Retrieved May 8, 2012 Walker was a civic leader who founded Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in 1922. Later he financed and built the Walker Homes subdivision in

South Memphis South Memphis, one of the oldest portions of Memphis, Tennessee, is a community stretching from Midtown and Downtown to the Mississippi state line. In its early days, it was primarily an agrarian community. South Memphis has many well-known neighb ...

. He also was active in organizations to support businessmen organizing the Memphis Negro Chamber of Commerce in 1926, which published directories of black businesses. That year he was elected president of the National Negro Insurance Association. He established a good reputation among businessmen in other areas. In 1939, he was elected president of the National Negro Business League. He used all his contacts to create opportunities for black businessmen. In 1946, Walker and his son, A. Maceo Walker, who had a master's degree in business, founded Tri-State Bank & Trust Company (later Tri-State Bank of Memphis)). They believed that blacks needed more opportunity to get loans to develop new businesses, as well as for their personal lives. In that segregated society, they were discriminated against by white-owned banks. Walker served as president of the bank until his death. His son succeeded him in the businesses and expanded them for his own children as successors.

Death

On July 28, 1958, Walker was shot to death in his office by Judge Washington Hamilton, a former deacon of the non-denominational Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church founded by Dr. Walker. The two men were once close friends, but their relationship began to sour after Hamilton was unable to repay a $8,000 loan. Hamilton attacked Walker with a cane in April 1956, but Dr. Walker refused to file charges against him or hire a bodyguard. Walker's death was widely reported in the media. Journalists estimated that 35,000 came to view his casket as his body lay in state. Dr. Walker's will, drafted before his second marriage, left the bulk of his estate to his two children. Louise O'Reilly Walker filed a "widow's dissent" with the Probate Court because no provision was made for her in the will.

References

*Yenser, Thomas (editor), ''Who's Who in Colored America: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Living Persons of African Descent in America'', Who's Who in Colored America, Brooklyn, New York, 1930-1931-1932 (Third Edition)

External links

Ronald A. Walter, "Joseph Edison Walker"
''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Joseph Edison 1879 births 1958 deaths Alcorn State University alumni American businesspeople in insurance Deaths by firearm in Tennessee People from Claiborne County, Mississippi