The Memphis Urban League Remembers

Born in Memphis in 1930, Dr. Champion made serving the community and developing products that promote healing with natural ingredients his life’s work. The quintessential pharmacist and herbalist met and befriended many a number of people during his life’s journey, to count them would be difficult to calculate.

A 1955 graduate of Xavier University College of Pharmacy, he was drafted into the U.S. Army shortly after obtaining his degree. He served as a pharmacist in Germany during a two-year tour of duty. Back in Memphis, he began working at John Gaston Hospital’s pharmacy, solidifying his place in history as the first African American pharmacist to work in a Memphis hospital. After 12 years at John Gaston, Dr. Champion took a job at Katz Drug Store and became the first African American pharmacist hired by a chain in the city.

Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store is a family business established by Dr. Champion and his wife, Carolyn Bailey Champion, in 1981. Champion’s Pharmacy and Herb Store has been the center of a community orbit anchored by Dr. Champion, who had the enviable quality of leaving the individuals he met with the sense that he appreciated their uniqueness as part of the whole. Dr. Champion passed away on January 21, 2023.