She took care of my kids and many more as Florida’s 1st black board-certified pediatrician

The thing I liked most about Dazelle Simpson was her quiet sternness with the children.

They seemed to know she loved them, and even if they came into her office crying, kicking and screaming, it wasn’t long before Simpson had calmed them down. I think it was her soothing voice … or maybe it was her smiling eyes. Whatever it was, it worked on our children like magic.

Simpson, a Miami native, was the first black pediatrician to be board certified in Florida. She died on Feb. 9 at age 95.

Simpson was my children’s pediatrician until we moved to Miami Gardens (then known as Carol City) when my older son Rick turned 13. I would come into her office worried and nervous. In her quiet, unassuming way, Simpson calmed me down, assuring me that she was on top of whatever was the matter.

I was a single mother and I loved her for that. I wasn’t the only one who loved her. When word of her passing got out, social media lit up with testimonials from past patients and/or their parents, about what Simpson had meant to them.

Simpson was the granddaughter of E.W.F. Stirrup, a Coconut Grove real estate pioneer. She graduated from George Washington Carver High School in Coconut Grove as the valedictorian of her class, and later graduated magna cum laude from Fisk College in Nashville. Five years later, she graduated at the top of her class from Meharry Medical College, also in Nashville.

She met George, her husband of 70 years, at Meharry. George Simpson, also a pioneer black doctor in Miami, was the first board-certified black surgeon in Florida, and the first African American to perform surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The couple married at Christ Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove on Dec. 26, 1949. Together, they made quite a team, sharing medical practices, and later became well-known civic workers and philanthropists. The Simpsons are the parents of three sons, George Jr, Gregory and Gary.

Dazelle Simpson served many organizations, including president of the Greater Miami Pediatric Society, the Florida Medical, Dental and Pharmaceutical Association, and vice chairman on Miami Children’s Hospital Board, to name a few.

Even as a highly respected physician, she still faced the ugly reality of Jim Crow. Once she had to convince a nervous, black maid at Jackson that she was on the right floor when she went to check on a patient. The maid had stopped her and told her, “You can’t come down this ward…” Simpson told the story to The Miami Herald in a 1986 article.

“The word spread like wildfire that there was a black doctor in the hospital,” she told the Herald.

Although her office was at 823 NW Third Ave. in Overtown, it was not uncommon for her to make house calls to see patients as far south as Richmond Heights, and as far north as Opa-locka, and still make it to her office by 9:30 a.m.

She once told The Herald, “Before I came here, a lot of people didn’t even know the word pediatrician, or why it was important to go to one. ... I think in my own small way, I’ve done something to change that.”

A celebration for Bishop Curry

They are calling it a “60th Birthday Celebration” for Bishop Victor T. Curry. But it really is a celebration of a miracle.

Curry, the senior pastor of New Birth Baptist Church Cathedral of Faith International, 2300 NW 135th St., suffered a massive stroke in January 2017. For a while it was touch and go, but through the prayers of the faithful and his own faith, Curry has come a long way.

The celebration will be at 7 p.m. March 6 at the Hyatt Regency Miami, 400 SE Second Ave. Tickets for the adults-only event are $125 per person. The theme is “Harlem Nights Soiree.” The attire is formal. For tickets, call 305-769-1100.

Jazz Festival at Lyric Theater

The Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave. in Overtown, will present the 23rd Annual Melton Mustafa Jazz Festival, “Continuing the Legacy of Jazz,” Feb. 28-March 1. The program is presented by MSM Arts United, with the Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South Florida Inc. as host sponsor.

For tickets and more information visit, https://mmif23.eventbrite.com, or call 305-308-5454.

He’ll speak of racism, anti-Semitism

The community is invited to hear guest speaker Daniel Gerstein from the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 29 at Temple Emanu-El, 1701 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach.

Gerstein, 23, is biracial. He was adopted as an infant by a U.S. Jewish family and, growing up, faced both racism and anti-Semitism. He serves as a medic in Battalion Aid in Station 890 in Israel.

During Shabbat services, he will tell his remarkable life story, which includes his military and combat duties. A complimentary kiddush lunch will follow the services.

Talk on American Jewish women

Pam Nadal, author of “America’s Jewish women: A History From Colonial Times to Today,” will be the guest speaker at 11 a.m. March 1 at the Alper Jewish JCC, 11155 SW 112th Ave. in Building #4.

Nadal’s book won the 2019 National Jewish Book Award for the Jewish Book of the Year.

The event honors Women’s History Month and Suffrage Centennial. The cost is $10 per person and includes refreshments.

This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 4:35 PM.