Gamble, Joseph Dunbar
(born: 1926 - died: 2005)Joseph Dunbar Gamble, born in Browder, KY, was the son of Bessie Breckner Gamble. The family moved to Fort Wayne, IN when Joseph was a child.
Around 1960, Gamble and his mother Bessie were on their way to a church revival in Phoenix, AZ when their car broke down in New Mexico. Gamble liked the area so much that he went back to Fort Wayne, packed up his family, and moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1961. He became the first African American licensed contractor in the city, sole owner of Abdullah Construction from 1967-1986, incorporating the company as Gamble, Gamble, Gamble, and Gamble Construction Company in 1986.
Joseph Gamble was president of the Albuquerque branch of the NAACP from 1962-1966, advocating for fair housing legislation. He was also founder and director of the Albuquerque Afro-American Cultural Center. In 1999 he was awarded the Carnis Salisbury Humanitarian Award.
For more see L. Jojola, "Contractor was Noted Civil Rights Activist," Albuquerque Journal, 6/23/2005, Obituaries section, p. D13.