Healing by dancing, sharing at Rosemary Nevils Williams 75th Birthday celebration
BySaturday April 20th the Capri Theater marquee announced ‘Rosemary Nevils Williams’ 75th Birthday Celebration. Guests entered the ballroom pregnant with balloons, confetti and flowers. The atmosphere was charged with expectancy.
The guests, handsomely dressed teens, seniors, couples and singles were a Who’s Who A-list in Minnesota social justice and activism. Veterans of the movements came to ‘see’ Nevils Williams, their symbol of matriarchal hope, here on West Broadway, the very same street the horse drawn buggy struggled through huge snow drifts carrying the lifeless body of 34-year-old Tyrone, Rosemary’s only son, six years ago in 2018. Ironically, some who came to celebrate Rosemary
Nevils Williams had also experienced the loss of a child.
The insidious murder of family and community members of at the hands of law enforcement, and the spiraling out of control and mounting gun violence within the Black community places our young people in a constant state of jeopardy.
Sadly, this was the case in the murder of Nevils Williams’ son Tyrone. His murder recreated once again a painful and glaring realitycommunities of color in most parts of America are plagued with violence. They came- trickling at first, then pouring into the festive ballroom that was just the right size to contain tearful hugs, jubilant handshakes, fist bumps and joyous laughter mixed with sudden bursts of lamentation. Like Jambalaya, they poured out what sensory deprivation had denied them. These were families that also endured the pain of losing loved
ones and friends to Covid. They talked about sudden burials of friends, releasing unintentional moments of silence at the hearing of bad doctors’ reports, lost jobs and housing, divorces and emotional breakdowns. Through it all, the mood was celebrative in the midst of brokenness.
Nevils Williams declared, “I want to dance…I want to celebrate.” The matriarch seated at the head table proclaimed she wanted to dance on her 75th birthday. Some seemed to tiptoe onto the ballroom floor while others out of habit stepped definitively, almost marching to greet, marching to dance, marching to shake her hand.
Nevils Williams’ daughter Raeisha grabbed the microphone setting the tone, “This is a celebration. My Mom said she wanted to dance for her birthday!” Smiles of relief replaced the war stories as furrowed brows of regular Black folks, lay men and workers, teachers and students,
Christian and Muslim, white and Black, gay and straight were surprised at their ability to have fun again. Nevils Williams had learned how to stand solidly in determination despite circumstances screaming “You’re finished.” She didn’t look like a mother that knew the sting of burying an only son. She worked the now packed room. Hugging, grasping extended hands, patting ever so gently some on the back careful not to miss anyone. All eyes were on her 5’4” frame. The atmosphere became electric. Regal, careful, her graceful interaction brought to my mind the interaction of Nelson Mandela after being released from Robben Island after 27 years in exile. Upon being released, Mandela knew what he was up against -best characterized by the catch phrase “Either the whites will dismantle Apartheid
South Africa vs Israel at International Court of Justice
Brittney Baker: From Rondo baby to fire captain
By Winter Keefer, MinnPostWhen Brittney Baker was recognized by St. Paul City Council last month for her promotion to St. Paul Fire Department captain, Fire Chief Butch Inks shared words of advice with the council:
“If you ever plan a meeting with Brittney Baker and it’s in public, I encourage you to make it longer than the allotted time,” Inks said. Why? Because people always want to talk to Baker “because she is so well connected in the community and so devoted to giving back,” the fire chief explained.
The historic allwoman St. Paul City Council declared March 27 “Brittney Baker Day,” recognizing Baker’s achievement and the significance of her promotion to captain. She is the first
African American woman to be promoted to captain. But Baker and her supporters emphasized that her work goes beyond her identity. The ordinance recognized her passion for “not just opening the door, but making sure the door never closes again” through teaching and community work. “I’m not a person who thinks about diversity in terms of just white and Black. I think diversity is a mindset,” Baker said a
tolerated.
Contributing WriterThe recent update on the South Africa v. Israel case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has reignited interest in the court’s earlier rulings. This case, initiated by South Africa, pertains to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza, a region marked by significant casualties, particularly among children.
Despite the court’s intervention, dire warnings about the humanitarian situation in Gaza continued.
Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of Coordination at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, warned of an imminent famine in Gaza, as reported by the United Nations Press. Rajasingham stated, “At least 576,000 people in Gaza – one-quarter of the population - is one step away from famine... adding that food-security experts warn of complete agricultural collapse in northern Gaza by May if conditions persist.”
Additionally, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that “health services in
In its initial ruling on January 26, 2024, the ICJ responded to South Africa’s plea concerning the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in Gaza. The court outlined several provisional measures aimed at addressing the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis. These measures included halting hostilities, releasing hostages and detainees, and ensuring the delivery of essential aid to Palestinians. According to The New York Times, South Africa secured “provisional measures,” akin to a temporary injunction, requiring Israel to take proactive steps to prevent potential genocide. The court declined South Africa’s request for an immediate ceasefire but directed Israel to prevent its forces from engaging in or encouraging genocidal acts and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and essential services in Gaza. Israeli officials, while rejecting genocide accusations, criticized the measures but expressed relief that a ceasefire wasn’t mandated.
northern Gaza have been largely destroyed, and the healthcare system in southern Gaza is on the brink of collapse.”
In its latest update on March 28, 2024, the ICJ reaffirmed previous conditions and introduced new measures to address the worsening situation. Emphasizing the urgent need for humanitarian aid, the court instructed Israel to cooperate fully with the United Nations to facilitate the delivery of aid to Palestinians in need. The Guardian also reports that “The ICJ also ordered Israel to immediately ensure that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.”
Despite legal efforts and resolutions, challenges persist, particularly regarding Israel’s compliance with court orders and international law, amidst ongoing military actions in Gaza. Hamas, as reported by The Washington Post, expressed dissatisfaction with Israeli
ceasefire proposals, demanding the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the return of displaced individuals. However, Hamas indicated its willingness to review the proposal further and provide a response to mediators. According to Reuters, the proposal, presented by Egyptian and Qatari mediators at talks in Cairo aimed at ending the seven-month-long conflict in Gaza, has not yet yielded a breakthrough. Israeli forces continued airstrikes on central Gaza and the southern edge, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinting at plans for a ground assault on Rafah, where numerous displaced civilians are sheltering.
As legal proceedings unfold, the case underscores the importance of addressing humanitarian crises alongside geopolitical challenges. It calls for international collaboration to pursue justice, uphold human rights, and foster peace in conflict-affected regions. Information sourced from The New York Times, United Nations Press, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), The Guardian, and The Washington Post, compiled by Pulane Choane.
Contributing WriterIn the realm of fame and fortune, the rise and fall of icons often intertwine, revealing stark parallels and profound contrasts. Recently, two prominent figures, Sean Diddy Combs and former President Donald Trump, have found themselves in the spotlight for vastly different reasons, yet their narratives converge in a conversation about power, accountability, and the consequences of one’s actions.
“The allegations against Sean Combs, known as Diddy, have sent shockwaves
an unexpected twist of events, Sean Combs, the influential music mogul formerly known as Diddy, finds himself ensnared in a whirlwind of accusations, suggesting a troubling pattern of sexual misconduct and exploitation. The recent surge of claims has prompted federal authorities to conduct raids on properties associated with Combs in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, thrusting the situation into the
through the Black community and beyond,” remarks Yoji Senna, a commentator on the matter. “It’s very sad that they go so high and still don’t
The starkly different reactions of Black and white Americans to the O.J. Simpson verdict exposed the persistent and extensive history of racial disparities in the American criminal justice system, where Blackness is often viewed as a synonym with criminality.
In a 2022 report by the National Registry of Exonerations titled, Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States, “race is central to every aspect of criminal justice in the United States.” It goes on to say, “Black people are far more likely to be convicted of crimes they did not commit.” The report also states, “of the 3,200 defendants who were convicted of crimes in the United States and later exonerated because they were innocent; 53% of them were Black, nearly four times their proportion of the population, which is about 13.6%.” The overrepresentation of Black defendants among those exonerated points to systemic issues ingrained within the criminal justice system.
With the recent passing of O.J. Simpson on April 10th, Americans reflected on the 1994 heinous double murders
of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman (both white). O.J. Simpson was charged with the murders and the “trial of the century” began in 1995. Nine months later, in October1995, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty by a majority Black jury. After hearing the stunning not guilty verdict, Black people cheered with enthusiasm, elation, and childlike ebullience. White people, on the other hand, were despondent, angry, disappointed, and bewildered. Most white Americans believed Simpson was guilty when he was first charged and that the “justice system” failed when he was found not guilty. Conversely, for Black Americans, the acquittal represented a rare instance where the system seemed to work in favor of a Black individual, offering a semblance of justice against a backdrop of historical injustices in a racist criminal justice system that overcharges, overly convicts, and overly sanctions Black people particularly when the alleged victim is white. There is an assumption in America that if a Black person is merely accused of committing a crime even when there is clear unquestionable proof that he or she is innocent, that they are doubtlessly guilty in the court
of public opinion of the crime for which they are accused. Even worse, when a Black man is accused of committing a crime against a white woman and if found guilty (which often happens) should be punished beyond what the law allows (e.g., in 1989, five Black youth, called the Central Park Five were wrongfully charged and convicted of raping a white woman in New York).
Contradistinctively, when a white person is charged with a crime against a Black person, he or she is assumed innocent and is perceived not guilty even before an official indictment is given. In addition, the Black victim is put on trial; his or her character impugned; their private life put on display and are publicly pilloried even if they were killed as a result the crime committed against them.
Furthermore, if the white person is found guilty of a crime against the Black victim, they receive little to no punishment and given sympathy, compassion, and consolation as if they were the victim. (e.g., Judge Tammy Kemp, a Black woman, gave former off duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyer a bible and a hug after a jury found Guyer guilty in the 2018 murder of Botham Jean – a Black man) A lot of the reaction to the Simpson verdict by Black people was also stoked by two
high profile cases where Black victims received no justice.
First is the acquittal of four L.A.
Police officers (three of them white) in the horrific and savage beating of Rodney King, a Black man just three years prior in 1992.
The graphic beating was caught on video camera by a bystander and broadcast into homes across America for everyone to see. For the first time the world witnessed what Black people have been saying for years about their encounters with police officers in America. However, the mostly white jury found the officers not guilty resulting in five days of uprisings and unrest in Los Angeles.
The second was the murder of Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old Black girl who was fatally shot in 1991 by Soon Ja Du, a 49-year-old Korean American grocery store owner in Los Angeles because Ja Du thought Harlins was stealing a bottle of orange juice. The murder of Harlins occurred two weeks before Rodney King was beaten. Although Ja Du was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and the prosecutor recommended a prison sentence of 16 years, Judge Joyce Karlin, a white woman gave Ja Du 400 hours of community service, and a $500 fine. Harlins’ grandmother
said afterwards, “this system of justice is not really justice.”
Rodney King and Latisha Harlins were the victims of crimes but viewed as criminals or as having precipitated the actions against them and received no justice. As was in the killings of Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Mike Brown, and Philando Castile. Many of the officers in the above crimes, not surprisingly had a history of anti-Black violence.
The jurors in the Simpson trial were strongly criticized for their decision and accused of jury nullification and racism. In addition, the defense team was accused of playing the “race card.” However, when a white person is acquitted of a crime against a Black person by a mostly white jury, white people demand that we must respect the decision of the jury and insist the system is not perfect but it’s the system we have, and it works. This belief ignores the racism endemic to the criminal justice system.
To be clear, with the help of video footage we have had some victories (e.g., George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Walter Scott). However, video coverage hasn’t always guaranteed a favorable outcome for Black victims of anti-Black terror by police and
others. Video footage alone cannot remedy the systemic inequalities embedded within the system. The criminal justice system in America will forever be unfair to Black people as long the false racist assumptions about Blackness remain intact and unabated.
This requires a concerted effort to challenge and dismantle the systemic racism that pervades the criminal justice system. It necessitates reforms that prioritize equity, fairness, and accountability, while also confronting and challenging the racial biases that continue to shape perceptions and outcomes within the system about Black people.
James Trice is CEO of the Public Policy Project, and Cofounder of the Environmental Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC) in Minneapolis, MN. James can be reached at: James_ publicpolicyproject@msn.com
At its April 8 City Council meeting, Brooklym Center City Council voted to create the Brooklyn Center Cultural and Public Arts Commission (BCCPAC), which will be composed of a chairperson and the 6 City Council members as the Commission members. The vote followed a brief overview of the beautification and public art master plan and provided an update on the implementation. Beautification involves enhancing the existing aesthetic conditions in an area or city and creating visual improvements. It addresses mental, physical, economic, environmental, community cultural health, and social well-being.
On the other hand, public art is publicly accessible original art that enriches a city and evokes meaning. It tells a society’s stories, enhances the quality of the community’s life, and improves the look and feel of a built environment. The need for a Beautification and Public Art Master Plan in Brooklyn Center was determined in 2018. The city hired Forecast Public Art, a nonprofit consulting firm to create the master plan. The process involved engaging community stakeholders, data collection, reviewing plans, mapping strategic locations and opportunities as well as identifying the strategies the city could implement. Milestones to date include February 2020 - The council receiving an overview of the master plan.
and leave on their own accord, or they will swim out in their own blood.”
Making things even
August 2020Receiving and accepting the city’s Beautification and Public Art Master Plan, outlining the establishment of an Arts and Cultural Commission.
2020 - Onboarding a part-time Artist-in-Residence to help implement the master plan and work with departments and city partners on initiatives related to public art.
2020-2024 - Infusing public arts efforts in ongoing projects such as the 2020 census, COVID awareness, city street banner initiative, heritage celebration community art, civil unrest de-escalation, and transportation hub pubic art among others.
The Plan’s Long Term Goals include Fostering civic pride and community health. Grow number of residents who become active stewards of Brooklyn Center. Increasing number of volunteers in the projects. Growing number of residents desiring engagement in public art. Increasing participation and leadership by locally based artists, residents and businesses. Leveraging private
more difficult, the entire world, seemed to want retaliation against the Apartheid regime as scenarios like the slain school children of Soweto sparked a desire to even the score.
Instead, in joint leadership with Desmond Tutu, Mandela formulated the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to avert the expectant bloodshed the world seemed to crave. Their challenge was to convince the 10,000 strong armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) -Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) to lay down their arms.
The leadership of Nelson Mandela, called Madiba by his tribe, was cultivated by the things he suffered. The multitudes wondered how he emerged from confinement for 27 years without long his sanity.
On the contrary, Mandela came robustly smiling. He was not angry at his captors. He had no need to “get back” at anyone. He kept his eyes firmly on the promise of a new South Africa filled with the hope of freedom and harmony for all its citizens.
Mandela was able to accomplish what was deemed impossible. The front page of the New York times showed pictures of soldiers limping, at times crawling, to turn in their M-16’s, and AK-47’s, symbolically saluting their commander in chief, Dada Nelson Mandela. The soldiers surrendered their weapons as they came in from surrounding countries like Angola, Mozambique and Namibia because their leader had demonstrated with his own life that anger, hatred and retaliation would only destroy South Africa.
Mandela’s message was simple: “Lay down your arms.”
In the same way, at her 75th birthday, Nevils Williams’ message mirrored Mandela’s. It was obvious to all observing her that she had laid down anger and bitterness, despondency, and anguish.
In exchange, she picked up the armor of community. She released the contagious power of praise and celebration.
As photographer
Steve Ozone’s camera scanned expectant faces before him, he successfully captured urban soldiers knowing both the sting of the death of a loved one, and the victory of allowing the rebirth of community purpose.
Like Mandela, Nevils Williams modeled the warfare she successfully waged by inviting other ‘soldiers’ around her to tear off their sackcloth in exchange for dancing shoes!
In between the medicinal sound of music DJ’d by KMOJ’s Walter “Q Bear” Banks, Jr., Nevils Williams started bringing the other ‘soldiers’ front and center. There was Kim Handy Jones whose son Cordale Handy was assassinated at point blank range as he lay prone on the ground with both arms up in surrender.
Like Nevils Williams, Jones chose to lay down thoughts of retaliation, and bitterness, choosing instead to join the people’s military. At every protest one could hear her clarion call “Boots…Boots,… Boots on the ground,” as she showed up at the demonstrations one after another of the slain, admonishing the community to rise, to lift their many voices in one accord in response to the killing of men women and children taking place in communities of color all across America.
Jones has created a foundation which has raised funds for the burial of the slain whose families would otherwise not have funds for a proper burial.
For much of the party, Nevils Williams sat center front at the head table and for much of the time a beautiful and smartly dressed young woman sat at her left with her head resting upon Rosemary’s shoulder.
Nyra Fields-Miller
investment and partnership support. Building a professionally managed program. National Therapy Animal Day Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves, has declared April 30th National Therapy Animal Day, acknowledging that animals like dogs have incredible impacts in the community, “bringing comfort and healing to those in need.” Graves said scientific research shows that interacting with these animals can reduce stress, relieve depression, slow heart rate, lower heart pressure, and strengthen the immune system. She said the city encourages more pet owners to become pet partner volunteers. Graves also saluted the service
seemed depleted of strength, for her son, Ricky Cobb II had been killed by a state trooper as a result of a routine traffic stop on I 94. He left behind a son who was just seven years old. Fields-Miller made no apologies for her brokenness. She wept upon Nevils Williams’ shoulder.
Ricky was only 33 years-old at time of his death. Filling the room also were foot soldiers, generals and commanders who formulated urban battles such as the successful George Floyd uprising which not only reverberated around the world, as a symbol of resistance, but also succeeded in securing indictments and criminal charges against all four participating police officers. ‘Generals’ like
Nekima Levy Armstrong served as both foot soldier and general in response to George Floyd’s murder as well as the police killing of Jamar Clark, Philando Castile and others.
True to the role of general, Levy Armstrong’s efforts were aimed at the core of systems governing ‘policing’.
Levy Armstrong targets racist systems of policing aiming to obliterate them. At the same time, she’s not afraid to “get her hands dirty” and feels just as comfortable in the front lines of urban resistance and guerilla warfare protest.
Titilayo Bediako said, “Nekima stood right up to Mayor Jacob Fry and a host of other elected officials who attempted to thwart the will and right of the people to protest. She stood her ground amidst agonizing pressure, fires, anger and rage. Nekima refused to compromise despite every effort to get her to back down.”
The room also was filled with change agents like Micheal Chaney, who along with Ibn Pori Pitts of Detroit, Michigan, served as one of the original founders of Juneteenth Minnesota. As the executive director of the Sweetie Pie
of therapy animal teams in the community.
Hennepin County’s Solid Waste Plan and Organics Collection The administrator of the Hennepin County’s recycling program, Tim Pran, gave an update on Hennepin County organics recycling requirements. He said garbage haulers had complied with County directions to offer organics recycling by January 1, 2022. Fast forward
Project, Chaney focuses on the nutrition of children in the inner city by training them to establish urban farms.
Another community pillar in the room, Titilayo Bediako, established the ‘We Win Institute’ in response to racial disparities in Minneapolis public schools. The name “We Win” personifies an Afrocentric curriculum affirming a winning paradigm which dismantles the formidable, racist expectancy of failure for African American children.
Kinshasha Kambui, herself a survivor of police violence as a youth, offers natural healing systems as a conduit of change cocooned in her healing ‘Wellness Paradigm’ salon. She offers a safe environment for weary community members to receive massage therapy, colonics therapy, and a host of other points of contact to receive bodily rejuvenation.
Nevils Williams’ daughter Raeisha says that she was shaped into an activist by her mother. She describes her mother pushing her as a baby in a stroller to Black Panther meetings and rallies in Oakland California. A graduate of Howard University, she observed Black activism and resistance from a “yearning distance’ as she focused on her studies at Howard.
The shooting of Tania Harris, however, became the defining moment in which she answered the call to urban resistance and activism. Harris, was shot by police in 2015 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota.
Chauntyll Allen’s activism centered within the ranks of the public schools. Allen has vowed to abolish what she calls “the school to prison pipeline” by replacing it with a” school success pipeline.”
Many attending Nevils Williams’ 75th birthday, “came with a limp” like the biblical character Jacob who
Nevils Williams
From 4
tenaciously wrestled with an angel, resulting in his hip bone being displaced.
Each, however, carried a mantle of leadership, and perhaps permanent scars identifying the time and location of their ‘maiming’. Today however, they walked, limped, and electric slid to stand in solidarity with Williams’ struggle.
Nevils Williams
Baker
dancing on her 75th birthday gave wounded warriors the map enabling them to walk through the fire, and emerge without even the smell of smoke upon them.
Many came wounded. One brother had just buried his mother the day before and fought back tears during much of the party. But he came.
Others whispered apologetically that since Covid they had not come out of their home and still isolated.
But they came to be in the company of Nevils Williams and many like her, who had survived the unthinkable and now danced! There was a sweet
stood as a living symbol of the power and of the importance of banishing negative toxic emotional weapons that destroy the heart and soul and swallow destinies. Nevils Williams’
of the March 27 council meeting at timestamp 27:45.
aroma of gratitude that invited Nevils Williams’ friends to reach out and touch her… maybe ask her to lay hands upon them. There was a magnetic pull of love that was resting upon this gathering of champions, and I
month into her new job. “It’s about getting people to think differently about themselves, about the way that we take care of each other as a society.”
For Baker, this means going into the community to teach and serve.
There’s a reason so many people know her. Baker is a lifetime resident of St. Paul and a “Rondo baby.” She graduated from Central High School and her family still resides in historic Rondo. She teaches free CPR classes. She also teaches the St. Paul Fire Department EMS Academy with two former EMS academy graduates. She helps teach first responder, EMT and paramedic classes at Century College, and she is an instructor for the Department of Transportation. She is also a proud Girl Scout troop leader.
At the council meeting recognizing her achievements and community commitment, Baker read a poem she wrote titled “Is it Worth the Cost?,” which can be heard in the recording
From 3 spotlight. Adding a layer of irony to the unfolding saga, Combs had recently undergone yet another rebranding, renaming himself as Love. This reinvention, however, appears starkly juxtaposed against the allegations now leveled against him, creating a dissonance that has not gone unnoticed by the public.
In her poem, Baker spoke about her commitment to those who come before and after her: “I want those before me to receive their flowers and credit, and those after me to be able to take out a proper loan without ever feeling less than. We pay it forward so we never have to walk in debt to those who don’t love us or want to see us succeed. In the space I felt the most free in this fire service, I am reminded of something: That when you’re accustomed to privilege, equality can feel like oppression. Yeah, just go ahead and let it sink in.”
Her career and facing persistent racism
First attending the St. Paul Fire EMS Academy, Baker began her career in 2012. But just about three weeks into her first EMT class, her father was shot and she saw how paramedics took care of him; one of whom was a woman. This interaction between her father and first responders stuck with Baker. Baker started her career as a first responder for Regions Emergency Medical Services and the basic life support unit for the St. Paul Fire Department. She wore many hats, working as an
EMT, a certified nursing assistant and a first responder. There she learned while people claim not to care what the person who takes care of them looks like, that isn’t true for all people.
“Some people do care. And I know because I’ve had patients call me the N word,” she said. “I’ve had patients tell me they didn’t want me touching them, that they would rather put me back in a field than allow me to take care of them. I’ve had people when I was working in the hospital refuse an EKG to be done and we were short beds that night and I was the only tech on.”
The patient waited until a white tech came on hours later, Baker said.
From these experiences, Baker said it’s important to her to not only reach people who think positively of her, but people who think negatively about her and her abilities too.
Her message is simple: “I’m qualified to do the job and not because I’m an African American female, but because I have the qualifications, because I have the education, because I’ve done the work. Some people, no matter how many times you say that, will still discredit you.”
Baker became a firefighter in 2018, a fire equipment operator in 2023 and, now in 2024, a captain.
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Identity comes in many parts
Baker clarified that she prefers to be identified as African American rather than Black. Baker said she doesn’t want people to forget the second part of the identity African American. “I am an American with African roots. I’m not just a Black girl. I am proud of both, but I don’t want anyone to forget that. Because sometimes people forget the second part (American).”
During a studying abroad trip in Australia, Baker said one of the many things that resonated with her while overseas was that “I wasn’t the Black girl or the African American girl there. I was the American girl. That was the first time in my life I had simply been called American. So when we go to other places and the rest of
the world views us, they view us as distinctly American. We are the ones to separate ourselves.”
Baker said she is a firefighter, a captain, an EMS educator, a mother, a wife and a teacher, noting that she happens to be American and Black. “I’m very proud of that. But don’t forget all the other pieces first.” St. Paul is a diverse community filled with many people who hold many parts, Baker said. It’s one of many things she loves about her city.
This showed when she received her recognition at council. She was honored the same day the council passed an ordinance that officially recognized Ramadan. Baker said she was honored to be present for the Ramadan recognition. Her grandfather is Muslim. She has friends who are Muslim.
To her, sharing that day with the Muslim community was special and meaningful. “St Paul is a melting pot. When people disregard cultures – here, we can’t do that.
We have a multitude of people, a multitude of cultures who are represented here and who make us quite beautiful,” Baker said.
Rondo babies recognize Rondo babies The recognition of Baker was sponsored
by all seven St. Paul City Council members last month, many of whom have ties to Baker and her Rondo roots.
Ward 3 Council Member Saura Jost, like Baker, is a Central High alumni. “I’m so proud of all of the work you’ve done, your lifelong dedication and commitment to our city. I know that that work will be felt for decades to come. And I’m also just really excited to see what you’ll do next,” said Jost.
Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie congratulated Baker during the March meeting. “I have seen you present, rooted in community, all throughout,” Bowie said. “I remember my time being an educator, being a youth worker and you were there building up the village. You were there building up the pipeline of opportunities. You have always been there. You have been an inspiration not only to myself as a council member, but also as a Rondo baby who’s proud to be Rondo raised. I’m just so honored to share a village with you.” This article first appeared on MinnPost and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Diddy From 3 literate themselves through life to not commit to those kind of things.” Yusef Mgeni further looks at the repercussions of these allegations, emphasizing the potential downfall of Combs’ empire. “This is going to be a significant reduction in his appeal, his earnings, his net worth, his brand, and could spell his demise,” Mgeni asserts.
individuals like Combs wield significant influence, not only in their respective fields but also across multiple industries, enabling them to evade accountability for extended periods.
The accusations leveled against Combs depict a troubling scenario of abuse and manipulation, with multiple individuals stepping forward with accounts of rape, coercion, and trafficking. Among the plaintiffs is singer Cassandra Ventura, also known as Cassie, who filed and settled a lawsuit asserting a history of abuse and coercion by Combs. Cassie’s legal action alleges that Combs not only sexually assaulted her but also engaged in trafficking by coercing her into sexual encounters with other men while he filmed. Subsequent lawsuits, including those filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal and Liza Gardner, further underscore the alarming pattern of behavior attributed to Combs. These accusations, some containing explicit details, have reignited public scrutiny of Combs’ behavior and prompted brands to sever ties with him. These claims against Combs not only illuminate the individual actions of a powerful figure but also spotlight broader systemic issues within the entertainment industry. The prevalence of patriarchy, along with the concentration of power and wealth, has fostered an environment where abuse and exploitation can thrive unchecked. In many instances,
Furthermore, the intersection of money and power within the entertainment sector often shields perpetrators and silences victims. The substantial resources at their disposal empower individuals like Combs to intimidate and manipulate those around them, perpetuating a cycle of abuse with impunity. The recent litigations against Combs underscore the pressing need for systemic reform, serving as a stark reminder of the corrosive effects of unchecked power and privilege.
Despite mounting pressure, Combs has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, with his legal team dismissing the lawsuits as baseless attempts at extortion. However, the accusations against Combs have drawn parallels to other high-profile cases in the music industry, particularly that of R. Kelly, as well as the Weinstein case in Hollywood. These comparisons underscore a broader reckoning within the entertainment sphere, as the #MeToo movement continues to advocate for accountability in cases of power abuse.
While the lawsuits against Combs share similarities with other cases, such as allegations of misconduct with underage individuals, they also present distinct differences. Combs’ charges, including sex trafficking, drugging others, and possessing multiple weapons, harken back to older cases, such as the public shooting incident, which further compound the severity of the allegations.
The lawsuits against Combs come at a time when societal attitudes toward sexual assault and harassment are
undergoing significant shifts. While the #MeToo movement initially gained momentum in Hollywood, its impact within the music industry has been relatively subdued until now. The courage of survivors stepping forward to share their stories reflects an increasing awareness of the pervasive nature of abuse and the urgent need for systemic change.
As investigations unfold, questions regarding due process and the presumption of innocence loom large. While the court of public opinion can wield considerable influence, it is crucial to differentiate between allegations and substantiated facts. The outcomes of these investigations will ultimately ascertain the truth and ensure that justice prevails.
Amid the controversy, it is imperative to contemplate the broader ramifications for the entertainment industry. This case against Combs sheds light on power dynamics within the industry and emphasizes the necessity of fostering a culture where exploitation and abuse are unequivocally condemned.
As society grapples with the revelations surrounding Combs and other potentially implicated individuals, the imperative for accountability and reform becomes increasingly evident. This case serves as a stark reminder that no one is immune to scrutiny, regardless of their status or influence.
Readers are urged to exercise caution in consuming information about this ongoing case, given the prevalence of misinformation on social media platforms. It is essential to seek out credible news sources and refrain from jumping to conclusions. While the accusations against Combs are grave, it is vital to presume him innocent until proven guilty and allow the legal process to unfold impartially.
In the end, the stories of Sean Combs and Donald Trump serve as cautionary tales, reminding us of the fragility of fame and the inevitability of accountability. As their fates hang in the balance, the world watches with bated breath, grappling with the implications of their actions on society at large. Trump From 3
In juxtaposition, the
legal saga surrounding former President Trump unfolds with equal intensity, albeit in a different arena. Al McFarlane aptly notes, “It makes them above the law,” drawing attention to the nexus of power and privilege that shields some from accountability. Mgeni provides a comprehensive overview of Trump’s legal entanglements, painting a picture of mounting challenges and desperate attempts to evade accountability. “He’s been comparing himself to God,” Mgeni reveals, encapsulating the hubris that characterizes Trump’s demeanor. The convergence of these narratives illuminates broader societal issues, from the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct to the erosion
Capturan el Espíritu y el Alma Las fotografías no solo capturan imágenes; también pueden ofrecernos un vistazo al espíritu y el alma de la persona. Este es el caso de la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith, una superagente (https://bit.ly/ERSsuperager) que todavía está fuerte a los 109 años y medio. Nacida en Grinnell, Iowa, la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith es la primera mujer negra en graduarse del Grinnell College, clase de 1937. Con una licenciatura en psicología y menores en sociología y economía, ella hizo historia institucional durante lapresión y tres décadas antes del Civiles. “Ella sabe cómo posar para una foto”, dice Libby Eggert ‘25, una estudiante de tercer año en el Grinnell College, quien trabajó conmigo mientras examinábamos fotografías familiares de la infancia de la Sra. Renfrow Smith. Eggert comentaba sobre un par de fotografías de 1915. Incluso de niña, Edith Renfrow estaba erguida y orgullosa. Estas imágenes forman parte de la larga tradición de la familia Renfrow de docu-orosamente conservadas por más de un siglo, ofrecen pistas importantes sobre la determinación de la Sra. Renfrow Smith. Nos ayudan a comprender cómo, en 1933, una joven de 18 años, Edith Renfrow, “se reclutó” para asistir al colegio de artes liberales de élite en su ciudad natal.umentando vidas negras en palabras e imágenes Edith Renfrow Smith es la historiadora de un siglo, ha llevado consigo las historias de sus antepasados a través de tres ramas de su árbol genealógico, historias que aprendió cuando era niña mientras estaba en el regazo de su madre. Estas narrativas la conectan con una larga y sólida línea de buscadores de libertad negros que migraron al centro de Iowa a mediados del siglo XIX y se convirtieron en propietarios de pequeñas empresas, agricultores y educadores. Su familia extendida ha documentado durante mucho tiempo sus historias en palabras, fotografías y artefactos. Tanto la Sra. Renfrow Smith como su hija, la Srta. Alice Frances Smith, una maestra de preescolar jubilada, son guardianas de lo que llamo los Archivos de la Familia Renfrow. A medida que creció el interés en las profundas raíces de su familia en Grinnell, Iowa, ambas compartieron generosamente con la ciudad y el colegio más de 150 imágenes que abarcan casi un siglo y medio. Entre las fotografías se encuentran impresiones profesionales de estudio y fotos familiares, varias de las cuales documentan visualmente el desarrollo de Edith Renfrow de niña a joven mujer. Fue la visionaria madre de Edith Renfrow, Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (1875-1962), quien se aseguró de que fotógrafos profesionales de estudio preservaran eventos clave de la vida, como la graduación de su hija del Grinnell College en 1937. Lo que está capturado en esta foto de graduación posada es a una Edith Renfrow de 22 años de pie orgullosamente con su toga en plena vista. Mama Renfrow sabía la importancia de registrar momentos, y se aseguró de que el logro de su hija fuera visible. A pesar de ser la única estudiante negra en el campus durante sus cuatro años y la primera mujer negra en graduarse, no hay una foto del Grinnell College que documente el logro de Edith Renfrow. La mayoría de las fotos familiares de Edith Renfrow tomadas cuando era niña son instantáneas y, junto con otras feministas negras, consideramos estas fotos como “registros críticos” de la vida cotidiana de una persona. Paul, su hermano menor y compañero principal de juegos, tomó la mayoría de las fotos informales de ella usando la recién desarrollada cámara Kodak Brownie portátil que se comercializaba para niños a principios del siglo
Photos Capture the Spirit and Soul Photographs capture not just images; they can also give us a glimpse of the spirit and soul of the person. Such is the case of Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith, a superager (https://bit. ly/ERSsuperager) who is still going strong today at 109 ½ years old.
Born in Grinnell, Iowa, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith is the from Grinnell College, class of 1937. With a major in psychology and minors in sociology
XX. Las imágenes resultantes ofrecen una poderosa visión del proceso de transformación de Edith Renfrow, y nos ayudan a llenar los silencios y lagunas de los archivos institucionales.
Las riquezas de un hogar familiar Las fotografías informales instantáneas de Edithanza en su hogar familiar. “La casa de mamá” aún está en pie. Comprada en 1917 y propiedad de la Sra. Renfrow Smith hasta 2004, fue un espacio de orgulloso hogar y autocontrol. El 411 1st Avenue nutrió a Edith Renfrow en los primeros 22 años de su vida. Fue donde madre a diario.
[[Mamá] decía: ‘No importa quién sea. Nadie nace mejor que tú. Pueden tener más dinero y pueden ser más guapos. Pueden tener cosas externas. Pero nadie es mejor.’ Entonces, naturalmente, si te enseñan que nadie es mejor que tú, ¿por qué creerías que no eres bastante especial? Y así, creo que eso hizo una gran diferencia. Ese lema es lo que la historiadora Tiya Miles llama el “paquete de cuidado” materno negro, y está cargado con lo que la socióloga Tara J. Yosso llama “capital aspiracional”, una forma de riqueza comunitaria mantener esperanzas y sueños para el futuro, incluso frente a barreras reales y percibidas”. Mama Renfrow también estaba “impregnada” en la educación universitaria que ella misma era demasiado pobre para seguir, e insistió en que todos los seis hijos Renfrow obtuvieran títulos universitarios. Cuando Edith Renfrow ingresó a Grinnell en 1933, ya tenía el ejemplo de sus cuatro hermanos mayores asistiendo a la universidad: Fisk University, Iowa State University, University of Iowa y Hampton Institute (ahora Hampton University). Fue a través de las reuniones que su madre organizaba para los pocos hombres negros que
Las imágenes de Edith Renfrow cuando era estudiante y adolescente presentan una postura familiar: está con la espalda recta, los hombros cuadrados, y sus ojos se encuentran con elma en que se comporta resuena profundamente con su sentido de sí misma. Ella creció conociendo a sus abuelos maternos que nacieron esclavizados y recuerda esto de ellos: “La abuela se mantenía erguida... No creo que las personas, a menos que tuvieran osteoporosis, creo que todos tenían posturas rectas. Nunca se encorvaban. No era [su manera]; ellos no eran de una generación encorvada.”
and economics, she made insti-
sion and three decades before Civil Rights Movement. “She knows how to take a picture,” says Libby Eggert’25, a Grinnell College junior, who worked with me as we examined family photographs of Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s girlhood. Eggert was commenting on a pair of 1915 photographs. Even as a toddler, Edith Renfrow was standing tall and proud. These images are part of the Renfrow family’s long tradition of photographic record keeping. Lovingly preserved for over a century, they provide important clues to Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s determination. They help us understand how in 1933, a young 18-year-old Edith Renfrow “recruited myself” to the elite liberal arts college in her hometown.
menting Black lives in words and images Edith Renfrow Smith is
her family’s oral historian. For over a century, she has carried the stories of forebears across three branches of her family tree, stories which she learned as a girl while sitting on her mother’s lap. These narratives connect her to a long, strong lineage of Black freedom seekers who migrated to central Iowa in the mid-19th century and became small business owners, farmers, and educators. Her extended family has long documented itself in stories, photos, and artifacts. Both Mrs. Renfrow Smith and her daughter, Miss Alice Frances Smith, a retired preschool teacher, are keepers of what I call the Renfrow Family Archives. And as interest has developed in their family’s deep roots in Grinnell, Iowa, they have graciously shared with the town and College over 150 images spanning almost a century and a half. Among the photographs are both professional studio prints and family snapshots, with several visually chronicling Edith
asistían al Grinnell College para cenas de domingo en la década de 1920 que Edith Renfrow, la estudiante, “tuvo una visión” de seguir las expectativas educativas de su madre en su ciudad natal.
deseo audaz, una Edith Renfrow de 18 años está en la curva del porche de su familia. Está radiante y cómoda en su propia piel. Mientras era una chica negra en una ciudad rural blanca, creciendo como miembro de la clasepresión, también fue guiada por un sentido de posibilidad. Al igual que sus hermanos, Edith Renfrow tuvo que trabajar para apoyar sus sueños educativos, y estratégicamente pospuso su inscripción en el Grinnell College por un semestre para mejorar sus habilidades secretariales. Esto le permitió mantenerse con dos trabajos en el campus, en lugar del trabajo doméstico que la mayoría de las mujeres negras en Grinnell no tenían más opción que hacer.
Edith Renfrow Smith ha llevado y compartido el profundo mensaje de valor intrínseco de su madre. Esta fue la profunda lección que enseñó a sus estudiantes de quinto y sexto grado durante los 22 años en que fue maestra en la Escuela Pública de Chicago, y fue el valor que aportó a casi tres décadas de voluntariado en la jubilación.
Recuperando un pionerismo: El Proyecto Archivístico Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37 de Grinnell College Aunque la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith es una orgullosa graduada de Grinnell College, que reclutó al ganador del Grammy y del Academy Award, el compositor y pianista de jazz Herbie Hancock ‘60 para asistir oculta” durante la mayor parte de las casi nueve décadas en que es exalumna. A lo largo del siglo XX, asistió regularmente a reuniones, pero solo recientemente ingresó en la narrativa de el presidente que le entregó su diploma en 1937 no la incluyó en su historia del College de 1953.
Fueron los esfuerzos de una exalumna negra, Alphanette White Price ’57, los que trajeron el reconocimiento inicial y desde hace mucho tiempo merecido a la pionera, y en 2007, se
Renfrow’s development from a girl to a young woman.
It was Edith Renfrow Smith’s far-seeing mother, Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (18751962), who arranged to have professional studio photographers preserve key life events, like her daughter’s Grinnell College graduation in 1937. What is captured in this posed commencement photo is a 22-yearold Edith Renfrow standing proudly with her regalia in full view. Mama Renfrow knew the and she ensured that her daughter’s achievement would be Black student on campus during woman graduate, there is no Grinnell College photo of Edith Renfrow’s accomplishment.
The majority of family photos of Edith Renfrow taken as a girl are snapshots and along with other Black feminists, I see these as “critical records” of a person’s everyday life. Paul, her younger brother and prima-
En la ceremonia de graduación en mayo de 2019, a punto de cumplir 105 años, la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith recibió un doctorado honorario en letras humanas de su alma mater (https://www. grinnell.edu/news/edith-renfrow-smith-37-doctor-humane-letters#:~:text=Edith%20 Renfrow%20Smith%20’37%20 received,at%20Grinnell%20 College%20Commencement%202019).
En los 12 años entre estos eventos, sin embargo, fue olvidada y luego redescubierta. En 2014, al visitar su ciudad natal con su hija, la Sra. Renfrow Smith se quedó en una posada local. Fue el propietario de la posada quien se enteró de su condición de primera alumna negra del College y llamó al Raynard Kington, el primer presidente negro y abiertamente gay del Grinnell College, entonces se enteró y conoció a la primera mujer negra en graduarse del Grinnell College, a mitad de su mandato.
Me uní al cuerpo docente de Grinnell en el otoño de 2019, y en el verano de 2021, lancé el proyecto archivístico, “La primera entre nosotros: La experiencia de graduación de Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37”. Con demasiada frecuencia, los logros de las mujeres negras son ignorados o minimizados. Como académica feminista negra, sabía que la Sra. Renfrow Smith no solo era una pionera, sino que también rompía paradigmas. Sabía que ingresó a un espacio no preparado para ella cuando se inscribió en Grinnell College. Sabía que necesitaba una red de apoyo para continuar con sus estudios como la única estudiante negra en el campus. Y sabía que tenía una historia que valía la pena conocer y contar porque era una historia de resiliencia, imaginación y cambio.
En los últimos tres años, lideré el Equipo Renfrow, un proyecto que involucró a estudiantes, exalumnos y residentes de la ciudad, para reconocer la presencia de la Sra. Renfrow Smith en el Grinnell College y
ry playmate, took most of the informal pictures of her using the newly-developed handheld Kodak Brownie camera that was marketed to children at the turn of the 20th century. Theerful lens into Edith Renfrow’s becoming, and they help us to institutional archives. The images of Edith Renfrow as a schoolgirl and teenager feature a familiar stance – her back is straight, her shoulders square, and her eyes meet the photographic moment. How she carries herself resonates deeply with her sense of self. She grew up knowing her maternal grandparents who were born into slavery and recalls this of them: “Grandma stood straight…. I don’t think people, unless they had osteo[porosis], I think they all had straight postures. They never were bent over. That wasn’t [their way]; they weren’t from a bent over generation.” The riches of a
El legado personal y ancestral de logros
su ciudad natal y la importancia de una comunidad inclusiva (https://bit.ly/ERSgrinnellrenfrowhallnaming).
Para mí, la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith es una pionera negra que fue poderosamente alentada por su madre y su extensa familia a brillar por sí misma. Nosotros, que seguimos sus audazmente su lugar en Grinnell College y sabemos que hizo posible nuestra propia presencia y sentido de pertenencia.
Mira la transmisión en vivo con la Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith en The Conversation With Al McFarlane, el 17 de marzo de 2024 (https://www. youtube.com/live/sQJxEMmce0g?si=Zmk9xSA6YorJOLZ9)
Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, EdD, https://www. grinnell.edu/user/beauboeuf, es una socióloga feminista y ocupa la Cátedra Louise R. Noun en Estudios de Género, Mujeres y Sexualidad en Grinnell College. Su trabajo publicado ha examinado la “maternidad politizada” de las profesoras negras, los costos incorporados de ser una mujer negra fuerte (https:// tupress.temple.edu/books/behind-the-mask-of-the-strongblack-woman), y la visión de las artes liberales de “vivir abundantemente” (https://ugapress. org/book/9780820361659/ to-live-more-abundantly/) defendida por Lucy Diggs Slowe, la primera administradora afroamericana profesionalmente entrenada en asuntos estudiantiles. Ella está trabajando en un manuscrito de libro con el título provisional, ‘Nadie es mejor que tú’: Edith Renfrow Smith y el cultivo de una infancia negra en una ciudad blanca del Medio Oeste, 1914-1937.
Tara J. Yosso terms “aspirational capital,” a form of communi-ty to maintain hopes and dreams for the future, even in the face of real and perceived barriers.”
Mama Renfrow was also “dyed in the wool” for the college education she herself had been too poor to pursue, and she insisted that all six Renfrow children earn bachelor’s degrees. By the time Edith Renfrow entered Grinnell in 1933, she had the example of her four older siblings attending college – Fisk University, Iowa State University, the University of Iowa, and Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). It was from her mother’s hosting of the few Black men who attended Grinnell College for Sunday dinners in the 1920s that Edith Renfrow the schoolgirl “caught a vision” of pursuing her mother’s educational expectation in their hometown.dence and bold desiring, an 18-year-old Edith Renfrow stands in the crook of her family’s porch. She is radiant and comfortable in her skin. While she was a Black girl in a white rural town, growing up as a member of the working poor
she was also guided by a sense of possibility. Like her siblings, Edith Renfrow had to work to support her educational dreams, and she strategically delayed her enrollment at Grinnell College by a semester to improve her secretarial skills. This allowed her to support herself througher than the domestic work most Black women in Grinnell had no choice but to take on.
For over a century, Edith Renfrow Smith has carried and shared her mother’s profound message of inherent worth. Such was the deep lesson she taught her 5th and 6th grade students over the 22 years she was a Chicago Public School master teacher, and it was the value she brought to her almost three decades of volunteering in her retirement.
Grinnell College Edith Renfrow Smith ’37 Archival Project Although Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith is a proud graduate of Grinnell College, who recruited Grammy and Academy Award winning composer and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock ’60 to attend, she has been the nearly nine decades she’s been an alumna. Throughout
the 20th century, she regularly attended reunions, but she has only recently entered the institution’s narrative. In fact, even the president who handed her diploma in 1937 failed to include her in his 1953 history of the College.
It took the labors of a Black alumna, Alphanette White Price ’57, to bring initial and well-overdue recognition to the groundbreaker, and in 2007, the Edith Renfrow Smith ’37 Student Art Gallery was dedicated. (See the Summer 2007 Grinnell Magazine story, “A woman worth knowing: Edith Renfrow Smith ’37).
At Commencement in May 2019, just shy of turning 105, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith received an honorary doctorate of human letters from her alma mater (https://www. grinnell.edu/news/edith-renfrow-smith-37-doctor-humane-letters#:~:text=Edith%20 Renfrow%20Smith%20’37%20 received,at%20Grinnell%20 College%20Commencement%202019 ).
In the 12 years between these events, however, she was forgotten and then discovered again. In 2014 when visiting her hometown with her daughter, Mrs. Renfrow Smith stayed
at a local bed and breakfast. It was the inn’s owner who learned of her standing as the and telephoned the president’s president of Grinnell College, then learned about and met the Grinnell College, halfway into his tenure.
I joined the Grinnell faculty in fall 2019, and in summer 2021, I launched the archival undergraduate experience of Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37.” Too often Black women’s achievements are overlooked or trivialized.
As a Black feminist scholar, I knew Mrs. Renfrow groundbreaker. I knew she had entered a space not prepared for her when she enrolled at Grinnell College. I knew that she had to have a network of support to pursue her coursework as the only Black student on campus. And, I knew that she had a story worth knowing and telling because it was a story of resilience, imagination, and change.
Over the last three years, I’ve led Team Renfrow, an un-
dertaking of students, alumni, and townspeople, to recognize Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s presence at Grinnell College and her exin the town of Grinnell. Since fall 2021, I’ve curated a website – http://edithrenfrowsmith.sites. grinnell.edu – to promote her visibility. -
ure: Renfrow Hall
Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith’s personal and ancestral legacy of Black accomplishments and perseverance will be enshrined forever with the opening of Renfrow Hall in Fall 2024. Focused on community engagement, Renfrow Hall speaks to her commitments to her hometown and to the importance of inclusive community (https://bit.ly/ERSgrinnellrenfrowhallnaming).
To me, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith is a Black Girl Groundbreaker who was powerfully nurtured by her mother and extended family to carry her own light. We who follow in her footsteps appreciate that Grinnell College and know that she has made our own presence and belonging possible. Watch the live broadcast with Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith
on The Conversation With Al McFarlane, March 17, 2024 (https://www.youtube.com/live/ sQJxEMmce0g?si=Zmk9xSA6YorJOLZ9 ) Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, EdD, https://www. grinnell.edu/user/beauboeuf )is a womanist sociologist and holds the Louise R. Noun Chair in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies at Grinnell College. Her published work has examined the “politicized mothering” of Black women teachers, the embodied costs of being a strong Black woman (https://tupress.temple.edu/ books/behind-the-mask-of-thestrong-black-woman), and the liberal arts vision of “living abundantly” (https://ugapress. org/book/9780820361659/tolive-more-abundantly/) championed by Lucy Diggs Slowe, African American student affairs administrator. She is at work on a book manuscript tentatively titled, ‘No one is better than you’: Edith Renfrow Smith and the nurturing of a Black girlhood in a white Midwestern town, 1914-1937.
imagens;
também podem nos dar um vislumbre
espírito e da alma da pessoa. Este é o caso da Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith, uma superagente (https://bit.ly/ERSsuperager) que ainda está forte aos 109 anos e meio.
Nascida em Grinnell, Iowa, a Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith é a primeira mulher negra a se formar no Grinnell College, turma de 1937. Com uma gradem sociologia e economia, ela fez história institucional durante -
Civis. “Ela sabe como tirar uma foto”, diz Libby Eggert ‘25, uma estudante do terceiro ano do Grinnell College, que trabalhou comigo enquanto examda infância da Sra. Renfrow Smith. Eggert estava comentande 1915. Mesmo quando criança, Edith Renfrow estava alta e orgulhosa. Essas imagens fazem par-
Amorosamente preservadas por mais de um século, elas fornecem pistas importantes sobre a Smith. Elas nos ajudam a entender como, em 1933, uma jovem de 18 anos, Edith Renfrow, “me recrutei” para o colégio de artes liberais de elite em sua cidade natal. Um assunto de família: palavras e imagens Edith Renfrow Smith é a historiadora oral de sua família. Por mais de um século, ela carrega as histórias dos antepassaárvore genealógica, histórias que aprendeu quando criança enquanto estava no colo de suatam a uma longa e forte linhagem de buscadores de liberdade negros que migraram para o centro de Iowa no meio do século XIX e se tornaram propri-
etários de pequenas empresas, agricultores e educadores. Sua família estendida há muito tempo se documenta em histórias, fotos e artefatos. Tanto a Sra. Renfrow Smith quanto Smith, uma professora aposendo que eu chamo de Arquivos da Família Renfrow. E conforme o interesse se desenvolveu nas raízes profundas de sua família em Grinnell, Iowa, elas generosamente compartilharam com a cidade e o Colégio mais de 150 imagens que abrangem quase um século e meio. Entre as fo-to fotos de família, com várias documentando visualmente o desenvolvimento de Edith Renfrow de menina para jovem mulher. de Edith Renfrow, Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (1875-1962), que providenciou para que fopreservassem eventos-chave da vida, como a formatura de em 1937. O que está capturado nesta foto de formatura posada é uma Edith Renfrow de 22 anos de pé orgulhosamente com sua beca em plena vista. Mama Renfrow sabia da importância de registrar momentos, e ela garantiu que a conquista de sua a única estudante negra no campus durante seus quatro anos e a primeira mulher negra a se for-nell College que documente a
A maioria das fotos de família de Edith Renfrow tirainstantâneos e, junto com outras feministas negras, vejo essas fotos como “registros críticos” da vida cotidiana de uma novo e principal companheiro de brincadeiras, tirou a maioria das fotos informais dela usando a recém-desenvolvida câmera Kodak Brownie portátil que era comercializada para crianças no início do século XX. As imagens resultantes oferecem umaRenfrow, e elas nos ajudam a dos arquivos institucionais.
As imagens de Edith Renfrow quando era aluna e adolescente apresentam uma postura familiar - ela está com as costas
retas, os ombros quadrados, e seus olhos encontram o mocomporta ressoa profundamente com seu senso de si mesma. Ela cresceu conhecendo seus avós maternos que nasceram escravizados e lembra disso deacho que as pessoas, a menos que tivessem osteoporose, eu acho que todos tinham posturas
As riquezas de um lar familiarmais de instantâneo de Edith
de pé. Comprada em 1917 e de propriedade da Sra. Renfrow Smith até 2004, era um espaço de orgulhosa posse de lar e autocontrole. 411 1st Avenue nutriu Edith Renfrow nos primeiros 22 anos de sua vida. Foi onde ela diariamente.
guém nascido melhor do queheiro e podem ser mais bonitos. Eles podem ter coisas externas.
cial. E assim, acredito que isso fez uma grande diferença.
Esse lema é o que a historiadora Tiya Miles chama de “pacote de cuidados” maternais negros, e está carregado com o que a socióloga Tara J. Yosso chama de “capital aspiracional”, uma forma de riqueza co-bilidade de manter esperanças e sonhos para o futuro, mesmo diante de barreiras reais e percebidas”.
Mama Renfrow também universitária que ela mesma era muito pobre para seguir, e ela Renfrow obtivessem diplomas universitários. Quando Edith Renfrow entrou em Grinnell em 1933, ela já tinha o exemvelhos frequentando a universidade – Fisk University, Iowa State University, University of Iowa e Hampton Institute (agora Hampton University). Foi
homens negros que frequentavam o Grinnell College para jantares de domingo nos anos 1920 que Edith Renfrow, a esseguir as expectativas educacionatal.
desejo ousado, uma Edith Renfrow de 18 anos está na curva do alpendre de sua família. Ela está radiante e confortável em sua própria pele. Enquanto ela era uma garota negra em uma cidade rural branca, crescendo como membro da classe tra-por um senso de possibilidade. Renfrow teve que trabalhar para apoiar seus sonhos educacionais, e ela estrategicamente adiou sua matrícula no Grinnell College por um semestre para melhorar suas habilidades secretariais. Isso permitiu que ela se sustentasse com dois empregos no campus, em vez do trabalho doméstico que a maioria das mulheres negras em Grinneller. Por mais de um século, Edith Renfrow Smith carregou e compartilhou a mensagem profunda de valor intrínseco de sua que ela ensinou aos seus alunos da 5ª e 6ª séries ao longo dos 22 anos em que foi professora mestre na Escola Pública de Chicago, e foi o valor que ela trouxeuntariado na aposentadoria.
Recuperando um pioneirismo: O Projeto Arquivístico Edith Renfrow Smith ’37 do Grinnell College Embora a Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith seja uma orgulhosa graduada do Grinnell College, que recrutou o vencedor do Grammy e do Academy Award, o compositor e pianista de jazz Herbie Hancock ’60 para fre-
parte das quase nove décadas em que é ex-aluna. Ao longo do século XX, ela frequentou
recentemente entrou na narraaté mesmo o presidente que entregou seu diploma em 1937 falhou em incluí-la em sua história do Colégio de 1953.
Foram os esforços de uma ex-aluna negra, Alphanette White Price ’57, que trouxeram
o reconhecimento inicial e há muito devido à pioneira, e em 2007, a Galeria de Arte Estudantil Edith Renfrow Smith ’37 foi dedicada. (Veja a história donell, “Uma mulher que vale a pena conhecer: Edith Renfrow Smith ’37). Na cerimônia de formatura em maio de 2019, prestes a completar 105 anos, a Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith recebeu um doutorado honorário em letras humanas de sua alma mater (https://www. grinnell.edu/news/edith-renfrow-smith-37-doctor-humane-letters#:~:text=Edith%20 Renfrow%20Smith%20’37%20 received,at%20Grinnell%20 College%20Commencement%202019).
Nos 12 anos entre esses eventos, no entanto, ela foi esquecida e depois redescoberta. Em 2014, ao visitar sua cidadesada local. Foi o proprietário da pousada quem soube de seu status como a primeira aluna negra do Colégio e telefonou para Raynard Kington, o primeiro presidente negro e abertamente soube e conheceu a primeira mulher negra a se formar no Grinnell College, na metade de seu mandato. Juntei-me ao corpo docente do Grinnell no outono de o projeto arquivístico, “A pri-frow Smith ‘37”. Com muita ou minimizadas. Como uma estudiosa feminista negra, eu sabia que apenas uma pioneira, mas uma quebra de paradigmas. Eu sabia que ela entrou em um espaço se matriculou no Grinnell College. Eu sabia que ela precisava de uma rede de apoio para prosseguir com seus estudos como a única estudante negra no campus. E, eu sabia que ela tinha uma história que valia a pena conhecer e contar porque
liderei a Equipe Renfrow, um projeto envolvendo estudantes, ex-alunos e moradores da cidade, para reconhecer a pre-
sença da Sra. Renfrow Smith no Grinnell College e as raízes outono de 2021, criei um sitehttp://edithrenfrowsmith.sites. grinnell.edu - para promover sua visibilidade.
oculta: Renfrow Hall O legado pessoal e anperseverança da Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith será eternizado com a abertura da Renfrow Hall no outono de 2024. Voltada para o engajamento comunitário, apromissos com sua cidade natal e com a importância de uma comunidade inclusiva (https:// bit.ly/ERSgrinnellrenfrowhallnaming). Para mim, a Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith é uma pioneira negra que foi poderosae família extensa a brilhar por conta própria. Nós, que seguimos seus passos, apreciamos queramente a si mesma no Grinnell College e sabemos que ela tornou nossa própria presença e pertencimento possíveis. ao vivo com a Sra. Edith Renfrow Smith em The Conversation With Al McFarlane, 17 de março de 2024 (https://www. youtube.com/live/sQJxEMmce0g?si=Zmk9xSA6YorJOLZ9) Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, EdD, https://www. grinnell.edu/user/beauboeuf, é uma socióloga womanista e ocupa a Cátedra Louise R. Noun em Estudos de Gênero, Mulheres e Sexualidade no Grinnell College. Seu trabalho publicado examinou a “maternidade politizada” de professoras negras, os custos incorporados de ser uma mulher negra forte (https://tupress. temple.edu/books/behind-themask-of-the-strong-blackwoman), e a visão das artes liberais de “viver abundantemente” (https://ugapress.org/ book/9780820361659/to-livemore-abundantly/) defendida por Lucy Diggs Slowe, a primeira administradora afro-ameriem assuntos estudantis. Ela está trabalhando em um manuscrito de livro com o título provisório, ‘Ninguém
Les photographies ne capturent pas seulement des images ; ils peuvent également nous donner un aperçu de l’esprit et de l’âme de la personne. C’est le cas de Mme Edith Renfrow Smith, une super-adulte (https://bit.ly/ERSsuperager) qui est toujours aussi forte aujourd’hui à 109 ans et demi. Née à Grinnell, Iowa, Mme Edith Renfrow Smith est la première femme noire diplômée du Grinnell College, promotion 1937. Avec une majeure en psychologie et des mineures en sociologie et économie, elle est entrée dans l’histoire institutionnelle pendant l’austérité budgétaire de décennies avant le mouvement des droits civiques. “Elle sait comment prendre une photo “, explique Libby Eggert, 25 ans, une étudiante du Grinnell College, qui a travaillé avec moi pendant que nous examinions les photos de famille de l’enfance de Mme Renfrow Smith. Eggert commentait deux lorsqu’elle était toute petite, Edith Renfrow se tenait grande
frow, âgée de 18 ans, s’est “recrutée “ dans l’université d’arts libéraux d’élite de sa ville natale.
documenter la vie des Noirs en mots et en images
Ces images font partie de la longue tradition de tenue de registres photographiques de la famille Renfrow. Préservés avec amour pendant plus d’un siècle, ils fournissent des indices importants sur la détermination de Mme Renfrow Smith. Ils nous aident à comprendre comment, en 1933, une jeune Edith Ren-
Edith Renfrow Smith est l’historienne orale de sa faelle raconte les histoires de seses de son arbre généalogique, histoires qu’elle a apprises lorsqu’elle était petite, assise sur les genoux de sa mère. Ces récits la relient à une longue et forte lignée de chercheurs de liberté noirs qui ont émigré vers le centre de l’Iowa au milieu du XIXe siècle et sont devenus propriétaires de petites entreprises, agriculteurs et éducateurs. Sa famille élargie est depuis longtemps documentée dans des histoires, des photos
et des artefacts. Mme Renfrow Frances Smith, enseignante préscolaire à la retraite, sont les gardiennes de ce que j’appelle les archives de la famille Rens’est développé pour les racines profondes de leur famille à Grinnell, dans l’Iowa, ils ont gracieusement partagé avec la ville et le Collège plus de 150 images s’étalant sur près d’un siècle et demi. Parmi les photirages professionnels en studio et des instantanés de famille, dont plusieurs retracent visuellement l’évolution d’Edith femme. C’est la mère prévoyante d’Edith Renfrow Smith, Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (18751962), qui s’est arrangée pour que des photographes de stu-
dio professionnels préservent les événements clés de la vie, comme la remise des diplômes en 1937. Ce qui est capturé dans cette photo d’inauguration posée est une Edith Renavec ses insignes bien en vue. Mama Renfrow connaissait l’importance d’enregistrer des records et elle veillait à ce que visibles. Bien qu’elle ait été la seule étudiante noire sur le campus au cours de ses quatre années et la première femme noire diplômée, il n’existe aucune photo du Grinnell College de la réussite d’Edith Renfrow. La majorité des photos de famille d’Edith Renfrow prises lorsqu’elle était petite sont des instantanés et, avec d’autres féministes noires, je considère ces photos comme des “ enregistrements critiques “ de la vie quotidienne d’une personne.
ganacsiyada yaryar, beeralayda, iyo barayaasha. Qoyskeeda ballaaran ayaa muddo dheer isku diiwaangeliyay sheekooyin, sawirro, iyo farshaxan. Labada Mrs. Renfrow Smith iyo gabadheeda, Miss Alice Frances Smith, oo ah macalimad ka fadhiisatay dugsiga barbaarinta, ayaa ilaalinaya waxa aan ugu yeero Kaydka Qoyska ee Renfrow. Iyo sida xiisaha u kobcay xididdada qoto dheer ee qoyskooda ee Grinnell, Iowa, waxay si naxariis leh ula wadaageen magaalada iyo Kuliyada in ka badan 150 sawir oo socday ku dhawaad qarni iyo badh. Sawirrada waxaa ka mid ah daabacado istuudiyaha xirfadleyda ah iyo sawir-qaadista qoyska, oo leh dhowr muuqaal oo soo noqnoqda horumarka Edith Renfrow ee gabadh ilaa gabadh da’yar. Waxay ahayd Edith Renfrow Smith hooyadeed oo arka fog, Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (1875-1962), oo qabanqaabisay in la helo sawir qaadayaasha istuudiyaha xirfadleyda ah oo ilaaliya dhacdooyinka muhiimka ah ee nolosha, sida qalin-jabinta gabadheeda Grinnell College ee 1937. Waxa lagu qabtay sawirkan bilawga ah ee la soo bandhigay waa Edith Renfrow oo 22 jir ah ayaa si sharaf leh u taagan iyada oo si buuxda u eegaysa qalabkeeda. Mama Renfrow waxay ogaatay muhiimadda rikoodh-samaynta, waxayna hubisay in guusha gabadheeda la arki doono. In kasta oo ay tahay ardayga kaliya ee Madowga ah ee jaamacadda ku jira afartii sano ee ay jirtay iyo naagtii Madoow ee ugu horreysay ee ka qalinjabisay, ma jirto sawir kulleej oo Grinnell ah oo ku saabsan guusha Edith Renfrow. Inta badan sawirada qoyska Edith Renfrow ee loo qaaday gabadh ahaan waa sawir-qaadis iyo iyada oo ay weheliyaan dumarka kale ee madow ee madow, waxaan arkaa kuwan “diiwaanka muhiimka ah” ee nolol maalmeedka qofka. Paul, walaalkeed ka yar iyo saaxiibkeed aasaasiga ah, ayaa qaaday inta badan sawirada aan rasmiga ahayn ee iyada oo adeegsanaysa kamarada gacanta ee
Kodak Brownie ee dhowaan la sameeyay ee loo suuq geeyey carruurta horaantii qarnigii 20aad. Sawirada soo baxay waxay bixiyaan muraayad xoog leh oo ku wajahan noqoshada Edith Renfrow, waxayna naga caawiyaan buuxinta aamusnaanta iyo daldaloolada kaydka hay’adaha. Sawirada Edith Renfrow oo ah wiil dhalinyaro ah oo iskuuleeye ah ayaa ka muuqda mawqif la yaqaan - dhabarkeedu waa toosan yahay, garbaheeda oo afar gees ah, indhaheeduna waxay la kulmaan xilliga sawirka. Sida ay nafteeda u xanbaarsan tahay ayaa si qoto dheer uga gilgishay dareenkeeda nafteeda. Waxay kortay iyadoo garanaysa awoowgeed hooyadeed ee ku dhashay addoonsiga waxayna dib u xusuusataa tan: “Ayeeyo toos bay u istaagtay…. Uma maleynayo in dadku, ilaa ay qabaan osteo[porosis], waxaan u maleynayaa inay dhamaantood lahaayeen muuqaal toos ah. Weligood ma qaloocin. Taasi ma ahayn [habkooda]; kamay ahayn kuwo qalloocan. Hantida guriga qoyska Sawirada sawirka aan rasmiga ahayn ee Edith Renfrow ayaa sidoo kale ka tarjumaya korinteeda guriga qoyskeeda. “Gurigii hooyo” weli wuu taagan yahay. La iibsaday 1917 oo ay lahayd Mrs. Renfrow Smith ilaa 2004, waxay ahayd meel bannaan oo lahaanshaha guri lagu faano iyo lahaanshaha. 411 1st Avenue waxa ay korisey Edith Renfrow 22-kii sano ee ugu horeysay nolosheeda. Waa halka ay maalin walba ka maqashay xaqiijinta hooyadeed. [Maama] waxay tidhi, ‘Ma daneeyo cidda ay tahay. Ma jiro qof kuu dhashay oo kaa lacag badan haystaan oo ay ka qurux badan yihiin. Waxaa laga yaabaa inay leeyihiin waxyaabo dibadda ah. Laakiin ma jiro qof ka wanaagsan.’ Markaa dabiici ahaan haddii lagu barto ma jiro qof kaa wanaagsan, maxaad u malaynaysaa inaad tahay qof gaar ah. Oo sidaas daraaddeed, waxaan qabaa in taasi samaysay farqi weyn.
Hal-ku-dheggani waa
waxa taariikhyahan Tiya Miles uu ugu yeedhay xidhmo daryeel oo hooyada Madow ah, waxana ay ku raran tahay waxa uu cilmiga bulshada Tara J. Yosso ku tilmaamay “caasimad hammi,” oo ah nooc ka mid ah hodonnimada bulshada oo lagu qeexay “awoodda lagu ilaaliyo rajada iyo riyooyinka mustaqbalka, xitaa marka laga hadlayo caqabadaha dhabta ah iyo kuwa la dareemayo.”
Mama Renfrow ayaa sidoo kale “loogu rinjiyeeyay dhogorta” waxbarashada kulliyadda iyada lafteedu aad bay u liidatay inay sii wado, waxayna ku adkaysatay in dhammaan lixda carruur ah ee Renfrow ay helaan shahaadada koowaad ee jaamacadda. Waqtigii Edith Renfrow uu soo galay Grinnell 1933, waxay haysatay tusaale afar walaalaheed oo waaweyn oo dhigta kulliyadJaamacadda Fisk, Jaamacadda Gobolka Iowa, Jaamacadda Iowa, iyo Machadka Hampton (hadda Hampton University). Waxay ka timid martigelinta hooyadeed ee dhowr nin oo Madow ah oo ka soo qayb galay kuliyadda Grinnell casho axadii 1920-meeyadii in Edith Renfrow gabadha dugsiga “ay qabatay aragti” ah inay raacdo rajada waxbarasho ee hooyadeed ee magaaladooda. Iyada oo ay ka buuxdo kalsoonidan iyo rabitaanka geesinimada leh, Eddith Renfrow oo 18 jir ah ayaa istaagtay marinka balbalada qoyskeeda. Way dhalaalaysaa oo maqaarkeeda raaxo ayay ka leedahay. Iyadoo ay ahayd gabar Madow ah oo ku nool magaalo miyi ah oo cad, oo ku soo kortay xubin ka mid ah saboolka shaqeeya inta lagu jiro Niyad-jabka Wayn, waxay sidoo kale hagaysay dareen suurtagal ah. Si la mid ah walaalaheed, Edith Renfrow waa in ay ka shaqeyso sidii ay u taageeri lahayd riyooyinkeeda waxbarasho, waxayna si istiraatiji ah dib ugu dhigtay diiwaangelinta kuliyadda Grinnell simistarka si ay u horumariso xirfadaheeda xoghaynta. Tani waxay u ogolaatay in ay nafteeda ku masruufto laba kambaska halkii ay ka ahaan la-
hayd shaqada guriga inta badan haweenka madow ee Grinnell ma haysan wax doorasho ah oo aan ahayn inay qaataan. In ka badan qarni, Edith Renfrow Smith waxa ay siday oo la wadaagtay farriinta qotada dheer ee hooyadeed ee qiimaha dhabta ah. Taasi waa casharkii qotada dheeraa ee ay baratay ardaydeedii fasallada 5aad iyo 6aad 22kii sano ee ay ahayd macalinka sare ee waana qiimihii ay u keentay ku dhawaad soddon sano oo tabaruc ah oo ay ku jirtay hawlgabkeedii. Soo kabashada marka hore: Koleejka Grinnell Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37 Mashruuca Archival
In kasta oo Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith ay tahay mid sharaf leh oo ka qalin jabisay Kulliyadda Grinnell, oo shaqaalaysay Abaalmarinta Grammy iyo Academy Award ee ku guulaysata laxamiistaha iyo pianist-ka jazz Herbie Hancock ‘60 si ay uga qaybgasho, waxay ahayd “sharaf qarsoon” in ka badan sagaashankii sano ee la soo dhaafay waxay ahayd alumna. . Qarnigii 20aad oo dhan, waxay si joogto ah uga qaybgashay isu imaatinka, laakiin waxay dhawaan soo gashay sheeko-yaqaankataa madaxwaynihii 1937-kii ku wareejiyay shahaadada ayaa ku guuldareystay in uu ku daro taariikhdiisii 1953 ee Kulliyadda. Waxay ku qaadatay hawlihii qalin-jabinta Black, Alphanette White Price ‘57, si ay u keento aqoonsi bilow ah oo si wanaagsan looga daahay aasaaska, iyo 2007, Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37 Gallery Art Gallery ayaa loo qoondeeyay. (Fiiri sheekada Xagaaga 2007 Grinnell Magazine, “Naag mudan in la ogaado: Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37). Bilowgii Maajo 2019, oo ka xishoonaysa inay 105 jirsato, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith waxay ka heshay shahaado sharafeed waraaqo bini’aadmi ah almateed (https://www.grinnell. edu/news/edith-renfrow-smith37-doctor) -humane-letters#:~:text=Edith%20Renfrow%20 Smith%20’37%20helay, at%20
Translation by Macdonald Anyanwu, AfrodescendientesYoruba Text
Edith Renfrow Smith, superager (https://bit.ly/ERSsuperager) Ti a bi ni Grinnell, Iowa,ki o to Civil Rights Movement.ile-iwe giga Grinnell Collegekekere, Edith Renfrow duro ga ati igberaga.n ràn wá ”
aworan Edith Renfrow Smith-
ni idagbasokesoke idagbasoke Edith Renfrowrin kan. Smith ti o rii, Eva Pearl Craig
ti o farahan ni Edith Renfrow wiwo ni kikun. Mama Renfrowfrow. ti Edith Renfrow ti o ya bi pataki” ti igbesi aye eniyan lo--bara sinu di Edith Renfrow, ati lára n bí sínú pé: “Bàbá àgbà dúró tààrà….
State University, University of Iowa, ati Hampton Institute (bayi Hampton University).Edith Renfrow Smith ti gbe ati
agba ile-iwe gbogbogbo ti Ilu
ori irandiran. -bíEdith -
giga giga ti Grinnell College,anist jazzHerbie Hancock ‘60 -
ti Black alumna, Alphanette
frow Smith ‘37 Student Art GalSummer 2007 Grinnell irohin Renfrow Smith ‘37).
news/edith-renfrow-smith-37doctor) -humane-letters#:~:text=Edith%20Renfrow%20 Smith%20’37%20gba,ni%20
2021, Mo
Grinnell%20College%20Bilaabantay%202019 ). 12-kii sano ee u dhexeeyay dhacdooyinkan, si kastaba ha ahaatee, waa la ilaaway ka dibna mar kale ayaa la ogaaday. 2014 markii ay soo booqatay magaaladeeda iyada iyo gabadheeda, Mrs. Renfrow Smith waxay joogtay sariir iyo quraac maxalli ah. Waxay ahayd mulkiilaha hudheelka oo ka war helay inay taagan tahay inay tahay ardaygii ugu horreeyay ee Madaw ee Kulliyada oo telefoon kula soo xidhiidhay Raynard Kington, Madaxwaynihii ugu horeeyay ee Madowga ah iyo khaniisnimada furfuran ee Grinnell College, ka dibna waxa uu bartay oo la kulmay haweenaydii Madowga ahayd ee ugu horaysay ee ka qalinjabisay Kuliyadda Grinnell, badhkii intii uu xilka hayay. Waxaan ku biiray kuliyada Grinnell deyr 2019, iyo xagaagii 2021, waxaan bilaabay mashruuca kaydinta, “A kowaad ee dhexdeenna: Khibradda undergraduate ee Edith Renfrow Smith ‘37.” Inta badan guulaha dumarka madow waa la iska indhatiraa ama la yareeyaa. Anigoo ah aqoonyahan dumar madow ah, waxaan ogaa in Mrs. Renfrow Smith aysan ahayn mid hore oo kaliya balse ay tahay hormood. Waan ogaa inay gashay meel aan loo diyaarin iyada markii ay iska qortay Grinnell College. Waan ogaa in ay tahay in ay hesho shabakad taageero ah si ay u sii wado shaqadeeda koorsada iyada oo ah ardayga kaliya ee Madow ee jaamacadda. Oo, waan ogaa inay haysato sheeko mudan in la ogaado oo la sheego sababtoo ah waxay ahayd sheeko adkeysi, mala-awaal, iyo isbeddel. Saddexdii sano ee la soo dhaafay, waxaan hogaamiyay Kooxda Renfrow, oo ah hawl qabad ardayda, alumni, iyo dadka magaalada, si loo aqoonsado joogitaanka Mrs. Renfrow Smith ee Kulliyada Grinnell iyo xididada weyn ee qoyskeeda ee magaalada Grinnell. Tan iyo deyrtii 2021, waxaan diyaariyey shabakad - http://edithrenfrowsmith.sites.grinnell.edu- si aan kor ugu qaado muuqaalkeeda. Hadda ma aha sawir qarsoon: Renfrow Hall Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith dhaxalkeeda shakhsi ahaaneed iyo awoowgeed ee guulaha madow iyo adkaysiga waxa lagu hayn doonaa weligeed iyadoo la furayo HallIyada oo diiradda saareysa ka qaybgalka bulshada, Renfrow Hall waxay la hadashaa ballanqaadyadeeda magaaladeeda iyo muhiimada ay leedahay bulshada loo wada dhan yahay ( https://bit.ly/ERSgrinnellrenfrowhallnaming). Aniga ahaan, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith waa Gabar Madow Groundbreaker ah oo ay si xooggan hooyadeed iyo qoyskeedaba u koreen si ay u sido iftiinkeeda. Anaga oo raaca raadkeeda waan qadarinaynaa in ay si niyad-sami ah isugu sawirtay Kulliyada Grinnell oo aynu ognahay inay suurta galisay joogitaankeena iyo lahaanshahayaga.
ko iti gba oye ti Edith Renfrowtaki.inu, ati iyipada.
ti o gbooro ni ilu Grinnell. Latifrowsmith.sites.grinnell.edu–
Ko si ohun to farasin olusin: Renfrow Hallbegbe ti o kunju ( https://bit.ly/ ERSgrinnellrenfrowhallnaming).
ah ee ay la leedahay Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith Wadahadalka Al McFarlane, Maarso 17, 2024 (https://www.youtube.com/ live/sQJxEMmce0g?si=Zmk9xSA6YorJOLZ9) Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, EdD,https://www.grinnell.edu/user/beauboeuf) waa naag ku takhasusay cilmiga bulshada waxayna qabtaa Louise R. Noun Gudoomiyaha Jinsiga, Haweenka, iyo Daraasaadka Galmada ee Kulliyada Grinnell. Shaqadeeda la daabacay waxay eegtay “hooyo la siyaasadeeyey” ee macallimiinta dumarka madow, kharashyada ka kooban inay noqoto naag madow oo xooggan (https:// tupress.temple.edu/books/behind-the-mask-of-the-strongblack) -woman), iyo aragtida fanka liberaaliga ah ee “nolosha badan” maamule. Waxay ku jirtaa shaqada buug-gacmeedka oo cinwaankiisu yahay, Edith Renfrow Smith iyo kobcinta gabadh madow oo ku taal magaalada cad ee Midwestern, 1914-1937.
youtube.com/live/sQJxEMmce0g?si=Zmk9xSA6YorJOLZ9)
Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, EdD,https://www. grinnell.edu/user/beauboeuf) obinrin kan ati pe o di alaga -
lagbara (https://tupress.temple. edu/books/behind-the-mask-ofthe-strong-black) -woman), ati org/book/9780820361659/ to-live-more-abundantly/) tiwestern funfun kan, 1914-1937.
