Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts: Healing, Leadership, and a Legacy of Firsts in Nebraska
Matthew O. Ricketts
Legacy Maker | Omaha, Nebraska
Dr. Matthew Oliver Ricketts represents the kind of leadership that quietly but permanently reshapes history. Born in 1858 to parents who had been enslaved near New Castle, Kentucky, Ricketts’ life journey speaks to perseverance in the face of systems designed to exclude. His legacy is not only one of “firsts,” but of intentional service to the community.
After earning a degree from Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri, Ricketts moved to Omaha in 1880, a city still defining itself. With limited resources but boundless determination, he was admitted to Omaha Medical College. To pay his tuition, he worked as a janitor, cleaning the very halls where he would earn his education. He later became the first Black graduate of what is now the University of Nebraska College of Medicine and the first Black physician in Nebraska.
But Dr. Ricketts understood that healing a community required more than medicine alone. In 1892, he was elected to the Nebraska Legislature, becoming the first African American to serve in that body. He would serve again in 1894, using his platform to advocate for opportunity, representation, and fairness at a time when Black political power was both rare and fiercely contested.
Recognized as the political leader of Omaha’s Black community at the turn of the 20th century, Ricketts worked tirelessly to expand access to public employment for African Americans. He was instrumental in the creation of the Negro Fire Department Company and helped secure government appointments for Black citizens, opening doors that had long been closed.
Dr. Matthew O. Ricketts’ story reminds us that legacy is built through sacrifice, courage, and commitment to others. His life stands as a testament to what it means to lead with purpose and to leave a city and a state better than you found it.
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