"Willis-Cummings[1894-December 2,1991]

He was in Galveston Texas,where his parents met.His mama,Mary

E.Badger ,was the first African-American woman to earn a Bachelor of  Arts degree at Atlanta University

(1886) and his daddy,William N.Cummings,a native of Tennessee,was a graduate of  Fisk University.His mama taught Latin and his daddy became the city's first African-American school principal.Willis material great granddaddy John B.Badger had been a practicing  dentist in Atlanta,Georgia,as far back as 1815.He attended college at Fisk University.While in college,he became the first African-American to register with the Texas Association of  the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU).

After earning a Bachelors degree From Fisk University in 1916,Willis became one of two African Americans among 259 members of the University of Pennsylvania School of  Dentistry Class of  1919.While at

Penn student,Willis was a member of Alpha Phi Alphia,a fraternity founded for African Americans in 1906 at Cornell University.Graduating sixth in his class,he became the First African American to be elected to Omicron Kappa Upsilon,the national dental honor society.A member of the varsity  cross country from 1917-1919,

Willis was the third  African-American student at Penn to earn a varsity letter and the first to break other athletic barriers.As  captain of the team in 1918,Willis  became the first  African-American to captain a varsity team at the University of  Pennsylvania- and in the Ivy League or the  Big Ten.

His athletic ability made him both the junior  and senior champion of the 1918,middle Atlantic Association AAU Championship-the first runner of  any race to win both championships in the same year Racism marred his accomplishments.Some rival schools,including the

United States Naval Academy,refused to have their  athletes complete

against an  African-American and even at Penn,despite the support of

coach Lawson Robertson,Willis faced  discrimination.No team photograph was taken of the 1918 cross-country team because of reluctance to show an African-American achievement at Penn somehow disappeared  after his  graduation,and it was not until Willis

brought  in his own scrapbook  and research that his name  was restored  in the official record.

In 1969 the Pennsylvania Athletic Club publicly acknowledged Willis as Penn's first  African-American captain of  a varsity team.Willis practiced  dentistry in Harlem from 1920 until  his retirement  in 1969.In  New York  he continued  to fight racial discrimination; in the 1930s his efforts helped  to open up the  Dental  Society of  New York to allow  Jews & African-Americans to become members.He married  Blanche M.Rudd  of  Hamburg, Virginia.His dental office was at the same  address  as their  apartment  at  2340  Seventh Avenue.

Willis remained  physically  fit even in his senior years;at age 85 and wearing his  Penn  varsity sweather,he  surprised  a young engineer  student by  passing him on a lap  around  the  Franklin Field  Track.

Willis died in Harlem.