“I am, I can, and I will.”
With those words, humanitarian Dr. Joseph Louis Dudley, Sr. built a successful haircare products business empire that has thrived for more than 50 years. He once said that his strong belief in Jesus Christ saw him through many challenges.
On Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024, Dr. Dudley died peacefully at his home at age 86, leaving a wife and three adult children who are living out his legacy of excellence and achievement, and a company that is known around the world for its resilience in the annals of Black business history.
The family said in a statement. “Our hearts are broken. However, we smile knowing the thousands of lives that he touched and changed. Heaven has gained a dynamic humanitarian. We love you!”
An underdog himself, Dr. Dudley always believed in everyone’s potential for success, especially if you were willing to work hard, strive diligently and walk by faith.
On March 13, 2019, this reporter drove to Dr. Dudley’s mansion in Kernersville, NC, to interview him about his legacy. The assignment was for a proposed film—which unfortunately never got off the ground—but meeting this gracious and welcoming man of wisdom and knowledge, who was a legendary figure of true Black history, was an experience I will never forget.
The story of Joseph Louis Dudley Sr. is one of inspiration, especially for African Americans.
Born in Aurora, NC in 1937 in a three-bedroom farmhouse, the fifth of eleven children of Gilmer and Clara Dudley, young Joseph failed the first grade and was held back and labeled mentally retarded. He also suffered from a speech impediment.
“Nine of us slept in one room,” Dr. Dudley recalled in 2019. He remembered praying as a child, “Lord if you help me, I promise I will help other people.”
His mother, Clara, believed in him, pushing Joseph to overcome those obstacles by telling him, “Prove them wrong, Joe,” and helping him become a man who would remake…
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