This is the third of a four-volume autobiography of Dr. Martin T. Tyler, a native Cincinnati Black man with southern roots, who was the blade of grass that grew between the cracks in American's sidewalk to become a successful athlete, accomplished student, dentist, career U.S. Naval officer, specialist in Oral Medicine, and tenured university professor. His story details his personal saga as he successfully hurdled the barriers in his heat of the race.
About the Author: Martin Tyler was born in Nashville, Tennessee and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. After enjoying athletic success in the Cincinnati public schools, he attended Ohio University and majored in Zoology in the Pre-dentistry program. After graduation from Ohio University, Martin attended Howard University College of Dentistry, and while living in Washington, DC he met Mignon Rummons of Kansas City. Their 44-year-old marriage (at the time of this writing) began with a small family wedding at All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, which was officiated by the late Reverend David Eaton. Martin completed his dentistry studies and, with Mignon, moved to his favorite city, Montreal, where he completed a dental internship at McGill University. After his internship, he started a career in the U.S. Navy, which included tours in Newport, R.I., three years in Sidi Yahia, Morocco, Great Lakes, IL, and back "home" to D.C. for a residency in the specialty of Oral Medicine at the Navy's prestigious post-graduate dental school, The National Naval Dental Center, Bethesda. During his final active duty tour at Bethesda, Martin earned a master's degree in Higher Education from George Washington University and successfully completed the Boards of Oral Medicine and Oral Radiology. After being retained to teach in the post-graduate program at Bethesda and serving as visiting professor at his alma mater, Howard University, he was recruited by the McGill University Faculty of Dentistry, where he served as director of Oral Medicine for over twenty years and became a tenured professor. He continued to direct the oral oncology program at McGill University Health Center after retirement from full-time teaching and from the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he earned the rank of Navy Captain. While living in the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York, after "retirement," Martin continued to volunteer to direct the McGill dental residents in the care of oral cancer patients and ran a private referral practice of Oral Medicine in Montreal. His two children, Mariama and Mounir, married and each gave Martin and Mignon two granddaughters, the pride of their twilight years.