Dakota Beacon

Dr. Ben Carson is a real example of the American Dream in real life.  He was raised the younger son of a single mother in inner-city Detroit.  His mother supported her two sons as a domestic worker. She, herself, had only a third-grade education but she had great faith in the future of her sons and a great determination to see them succeed.   As a child in school, Carson was often ridiculed by his classmates as the “dumbest kid in school”. He believed them. But his mother believed in him and insisted that he and his brother read. She demanded that they present her with their book reports (which she pretended to read - they didn’t realize she was unable to read).  Out of this faith and determination, Carson realized that he could learn.

All his life, as long as he could remember, he wanted to be a doctor.  He loved doctors’ offices, he liked the smell of them and the whole atmosphere.  He had one great unquenchable desire:  to succeed in the field of medicine. Even the discouragement of professors who told him he was “not cut out to be a doctor” could not dissuade him.  He first got his degree in psychology and then switched to neurosurgery, where his gifts became obvious. He was able to understand and visualize the brain in three dimensions, had great skill and facility in his hands, all of which suited him perfectly for his calling.  He became, at age 33, the youngest head of a major division at the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital. Among his major achievements have been the successful separation of twins conjoined at the head and of neurosurgery on prenatal infants. He has become the foremost expert in the field of neurosurgery, accomplishing medical feats unthought of before.

Carson is married to his wife Candy, whom he met as a student at Yale, and they have three sons.

In February, 2013, Carson was the keynote speaker at a National Prayer Breakfast, where, despite President Obama seated only a few feet away, he delivered a talk highly critical of Obama and Democrat policies, and pointing toward a different, more conservative view of national politics.  This raised awareness among conservative Republicans who successfully sought his participation in the 2016 presidential campaign. He did well but was not the nominee. President Trump asked him to be his Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He remains one of America’s most admired persons.  Carson has retained a sense of humility, despite a long list of accolades and successes. He is living proof that America works if we do. Here, he addresses Liberty University, while a candidate for president.

Following is a partial list of honors:

• Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

• Library of Congress Living Legend, Library of Congress

• Member, President’s Council on Bioethics

• William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership

• Spingarn Medal for Outstanding Achievement, NAACP

• Presidential Medal of Honor

• Ford’s Theater Society awarded Carson the Ford's Theatre Lincoln Medal, for exemplifying the qualities embodied by President Abraham Lincoln—including courage, integrity, tolerance, equality, and creative expression—through superior achievements

• In 2008 U.S. News & World Report named him one of “America’s Best Leaders”

• Elected to the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine

• The Baltimore Daily Record’s Influential Marylander Award

• 2014 Gallup Poll:  America’s sixth most admired person

• Emeritus Fellow of Yale Corporation

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