Lucky Medicine: A Memoir of Success Beyond Segregation

A remarkable, personal glimpse of Black student life at Indiana University in the early 1960s.

In 1961, a skinny African American boy from Indianapolis arrived at Indiana University Bloomington determined to become a doctor. For the next three years, Lester Thompson kept a detailed, intimate diary of his journey to graduation. In Lucky Medicine, Lester returns to his long-ago journal and, with honesty, humor, and a healthy dose of rueful self-reflection, shares stories from his college years at Indiana University.

Fascinating glimpses emerge of Black Greek life at the time, including the building of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity house and the successes, struggles, and social lives of its members. Lester’s student years were driven by hard work, but also bustled with fun and drama. He recalls his time studying at the university library, falling in and out of love many times, becoming friends with fellow fraternity brother Booker T. Jones, a truly memorable invitation extended to meet with George Wallace, and an epic, no-holds-barred brawl with limestone cutters at the 24-Hour Grill.

Lucky Medicine offers a closeup, unforgettable look at IU student life just before the sweeping social changes of the 1960s, when students of color accounted for less than 2 percent of the Indiana University’s student body.

Dr. Lester Thompson is a retired Seattle urologist, originally from Indianapolis, Indiana. He received undergraduate and medical degrees from Indiana University in 1965 and 1968. Following two years of active duty in the US Navy, he moved to Seattle and practiced until 2012. Dr. Thompson and his wife Lori have three children and four grandchildren.