Dr. Harold W. Jordan

Dr. Harold W. Jordan was born on May 24, 1937 in his beloved hometown of Newnan, Georgia to Edward P. and Dorothy W. Jordan. From the age of seven, he decided that he wanted to become a physician like his grandfather, Dr. John Henry Jordan, the first black physician in Coweta County, Georgia. Dr. Jordan grew up in the house that his grandfather built and played with his grandfather’s old medical instruments as a child. He enjoyed his piano lessons and singing in the youth choir at Newnan Chapel United Methodist Church. Dr. Jordan was also president of his high school class and graduated as valedictorian of Warner High School in 1954.

 After enrolling at Morehouse College, Dr. Jordan pledged Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and served as President of the chapter. He sang in the Morehouse Glee Club and majored in biology and minored in chemistry with the goal of attending Meharry Medical College, thus following in the footsteps of both his grandfather and great-grandfather, Dr. Edward Ramsey, the first black physician in Houston, Texas.

 Dr. Jordan began his first year at Meharry Medical College in the fall of 1958 and graduated in 1962. In 1959, he went to Fisk University’s gymnasium where Dr. Martin Luther King was scheduled to speak. A bomb threat occurred, and the building was evacuated. This was a fortuitous event because, during the evacuation, he met the woman who would later become his wife, Geraldine Crawford. They married a week after he graduated from Meharry, on June 17. 1962. The following week, they became members of Clark Memorial United Methodist Church where Dr. Jordan remained a faithful member until his death. In addition, from this union their four children were born: Harold II, Vincent Andre, Karen Dorothy Nicole, and Kristi Yvette.

 After completing a year-long residency in Internal Medicine at Meharry and after much soul-searching and prayer, Dr. Jordan accepted a residency in Psychiatry at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, becoming the first black physician and resident in the history of the university. Upon completing his psychiatric residency there, he returned to Meharry where he was appointed as the Assistant Professor and Director of the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic by Dr. Lloyd C. Elam. Psychiatry was Dr. Jordan’s calling and, after serving in several positions at Meharry, he took a brief leave due to being appointed Assistant Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of Tennessee, where he served for four years under Governor Winfield Dunn.

 In 1975, Dr. Jordan became Tennessee’s first Black Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health. A state building, the Harold W. Jordan Habilitation Center, was named in his honor. During his tenure as Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of Tennessee, Dr. Jordan was asked by the President of Meharry, Dr. Lloyd C. Elam, and the Director of Alumni Affairs, Dr. Henry Moses, to deliver the Commencement address at Meharry’s graduation. It was one of the proudest moments of his life. He also accomplished the rare feat of accrediting every mental health facility in the state.

 He later served as a long-time Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and was Acting Dean of the Medical School at Meharry under Dr. Henry Foster. In 2019, Vanderbilt honored Dr. Jordan’s historical achievement at the institution by establishing the annual Harold Jordan Lecture Series and Award Honoring Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice. It was established to honor his time as the first African-American resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he maintained a clinical appointment until 2016. In 2024, he was also a recipient of the “Living Legends’ Award sponsored by the Thomas J. Blocker Society, an incorporated collaboration of the Morehouse College Alumni Association.

 Dr. Jordan’s past civic and social memberships have included the American Psychiatric Association, Distinguished Life Fellow; American Association of University Professors; R. F. Boyd medical Society; National Medical Association; Black Psychiatrists of America; Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society; Nashville Mental Health Association; Board of Directors, McKendree Manor Methodist Home for the Aged; Board of Directors, University School of Nashville; Board of Directors, Martin Methodist College; Board of Trustees, 100 Black Men of Middle Tennessee; Chi Boule of Sigma Pi Phi; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; NAACP Life Member; Board Member, Grace M. Eaton Day Home; as well as many others.

Dr. Jordan was an anglophile, so much so that he made his children listen to “BBC World Service – Radio News Reel” as he drove them to school. In fact, Dr. Jordan was so knowledgeable about British history that he once corrected a tour guide at the British Museum in London. 

 Dr. Jordan loved music, particularly playing the piano and singing. He was a faithful member of the choir at Clark Memorial United Methodist Church. He was an active member at Clark, serving as a Sunday school teacher as well as the Chair of the Pastor Parish Relations Committee for many years.

 While his professional achievements were numerous, nothing made Dr. Jordan more proud than his family. He and his wife Geraldine (affectionately called Gerri) were married for more than 62 years and was a proud father to his four children. Despite his extremely demanding professional schedule, Dr. Jordan always made time to participate in all of his children’s academic, artistic, athletic, and social activities.

 In 2014, after spending almost 55 years in Nashville, Harold and his wife Geraldine relocated to Los Angeles, California to spend their golden years near their children Vincent, Karen and Kristi. While they missed Nashville terribly, Harold and Gerri never felt disconnected from their Nashville roots as they talked to their many friends regularly and always cherished their love and support.

On December 26, 2024, Dr. Jordan gained his heavenly reward in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, California. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Dorothy Jordan, his sister Vertelle, and his brother Edward Jordan, II. He leaves to cherish his memory the love of his life, Geraldine C. Jordan; sons Harold W. (Michelle) Jordan, II and Vincent A. Jordan; daughters Karen Jordan and Kristi Y. Jordan; brother Emerson (Nicole) Jordan of Colorado Springs, Colorado; grandchildren Rachel L. (Leighton) Batiste, Kathryn A. Jordan, Christopher H. Jordan and Dontera (Angel) Scaggs; great-grandchildren, Carter Scaggs and Jordan Ahmad Batiste. Three loving “special children:” Sondra (Carlo) Dade, Alice (Maurice) Croom, Ruth Elizabeth (Jeff) Gates, and Robert (Monica) Anderson, Jr. Special daughter: Dorothy (Dedie) Davis. Godson: Christopher Davis. Favorite cousins: Lucille Harris of Newnan, Georgia, Bernice Small and children of Temple Hill, MD, Rev. McAllister Hollins, Jocelyn (Joseph) Fowler, Veta Jonas, and Edward D. Jonas, all of Atlanta, Justine (Joseph) Harris and children of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Detra Robinson of Washington, D.C., as well as many other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the Jordan family has asked that those wishing to honor Dr. Harold Jordan's memory donate to The Dr. Harold W. and Geraldine C. Jordan Scholarship Fund at Meharry Medical College, 1005 Dr. D. B. Todd Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN. 37208. Please designate the scholarship name on the check memo. Your contribution will help continue his legacy of supporting education and healthcare. 

To donate, please use the link below:

GIVE ONLINE - Meharry Medical College

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1.  Click the amount you would like to give.

2.  In the "Designation" dropdown menu, select The Dr. Harold W. and Geraldine C. Jordan Scholarship Fund.