Joseph Radix was born in Grenada and went to primary and high school there. After those formal years, he migrated with his parents to the United States. As he prepared for college and with a desire to be an actor, Radix spoke to his father about that possibility but the elder Radix didn’t think that was a good idea.
He went to Virginia State University and became a chemistry major. He began questioning if this was the right field for him.
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His father passed away while he was in college, but three years or so before he actually went into dental school, his father had suggested at one point that maybe dentistry was a good field that he could pursue. He also had the influence of family members as well. One of them was Dr. Lamuel Stanislaus who was a Grenadian dentist and diplomat. After leaving Grenada in the mid 1940s he attended dental school at Howard University. After 1956, he lived in Brooklyn where he founded Caribbeans for Ed Koch. On January 18, 1985 he was appointed Permanent Representative of Grenada to the United Nations in New York City where he was representative for five years. He served again for another stint from 1998 through 2004.
He says, “At that point I actually applied to dental school as a junior and was accepted and never finished my Bachelor’s degree.”
Dr. Radix shares the changes he sees in the field of dentistry over the years. “There are a lot of changes since my time of my graduation,” he says.
He says right now it’s all about the implant craze which is different from when he graduated dental school it was not a focus at the time. The basis for modern dental implants is a biological process called osseointegration, in which materials such as titanium or zirconia form an intimate bond to the bone.
He says, “I think 20 years from now we will probably be in a different phase of the profession again.”
Dr. Radix is married to Corporation Counsel Hon. Sylvia Hinds-Radix and they share three daughters, Jovia, Jenneate and Josyl.
He is proud of his children for pursuing their own paths. Jovia followed in the footsteps of her mother, an attorney; Jeanneate followed in his footsteps of her father, becoming a dentist; and Josyl who completed culinary studies and business, currently works for the government in the department of Technology.
Both Jovia and Jeannette recently got married.
Outside of his family, Dr. Radix shares a special bond and commitment to the community. He serves as Chairman of Caribbean American Medical & Scientific Association (CAMSA), Inc., which was formed in New York in 2002 by a group of doctors of Caribbean descent who wanted to improve health care for the Caribbean community both locally and in the Caribbean, as well as to give back to the Caribbean countries from which they had derived so much. They offer seminars as well.
He’s worked in several community health centers that serve the poorer neighborhoods in New York, for example, the Brownsville Multi-service Family Health and Wellness Centers (BMS) delivers quality services and comprehensive programs to over 17,000 residents in East and Central Brooklyn (New York). BMS provides a wide array of services that address and prevent health conditions. Services like Obstetrics/Gynecology, general medicine, pediatrics, and of course dental services.
Dr. Radix also tutors at the Barbados Commission and mentors in his spare time.
On celebrating Grenada’s 50th Independence, he recalled some of the things Grenada went through to make it to 50 – Maurice Bishop, a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement that came to power during the 13 March 1979 revolution that removed Eric Gairy from office. Bishop was arrested on charges of plotting an armed anti-government conspiracy and taken to the Fort George prison on February 6 1974.
Radix believes that “we have progressed a lot in 50 years”.
