December 19, 2025 • 29 mins
In the season finale of The North Star, JeffriAnne Wilder, Ph.D. sits down with legendary educator, anthropologist, and social justice activist Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., Oberlin alumna, former president of Spelman and Bennett Colleges, and past director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art—for a powerful conversation about a life shaped by Oberlin, sisterhood, and an unwavering commitment to equity. Dr. Cole shares intimate stories of intergenerational Black excellence, from her great-grandfather A. L. Lewis, Florida’s first Black millionaire, to her own path from Fisk to Oberlin, where she discovered anthropology and learned to follow passion over prescription. She offers candid wisdom for today’s students and emerging leaders about being “intellectually naked,” embracing purpose, and treating self-care as political—noting, in conversation with Audre Lorde’s famous words, that neglecting her own health had lifelong consequences even as she helped transform institutions and movements around the world, making her presence as the closing guest of this season all the more profound.
🔗 Find out more about Dr. JeffriAnne Wilder.
🔗 Follow the Center for DEI Innovation and Leadership on LinkedIn.
🌎Visit Oberlin College's website.
Podcast Produced by: Paradigm Media Group
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the North Star, where we sit with voices
reshaping how we think aboutleadership, equity, and justice.
In a season devoted todisruption, to those who
challenge norms and dream newfutures, we're really honored
today to host someone many mayconsider an American institution
in her own right.
Dr.
(00:20):
Jeanetta Cole, an OberlinCollege alumna from the class of
1957, is truly a luminary whoseinfluences stretch across
education, culture, and socialjustice.
Dr.
Cole was the firstAfrican-American woman to serve
as the president of someonecollege.
Dr.
Cole directed Smithsonian'sNational Museum of African Art.
(00:41):
So, over decades, Dr.
Cole's work has bridgedscholarship, cultural
expression, institutionalleadership, and activism, always
with an eye toward equity andcultural collective uplift.
And today we'll spend some timeexploring her Oberlin years, her
bold move moves throughinstitutions, and the wisdom she
offers for emerging leaders whowant to move, not just with
(01:05):
ambition, but with purpose.
So welcome, Dr.
Cole.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
I feel very welcome, Sister Professor.
And happy to be with you.
So I consider this really asquite a quite an honor, you
know, to spend time talkingabout what it was like to be an
(01:33):
obie in my early years.
But once an Obi, always an Obi.
I can't really capture in wordsthe amount of influence that I
think Oberlin College has hadnot just on me as a person, but
(01:57):
on all that I've managed to doas an academician, yes, as an
anthropologist, andfundamentally as a social
justice activist.
So thank you for inviting meinto your special space.
(02:18):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (02:19):
Now, before you and I connected today in this
special space, you and I shareda previous very special space.
I have to share this storybecause it is just too cool not
to share.
Um so great.
You know, this is actuallysomething that I really very
(02:42):
rarely share, you know, with theworld, right?
Because this is ultimatelygonna, you know, live somewhere
on social media.
So shortly after I um gotmarried, I ultimately uh became
pregnant with my oldest daughterand sadly separated from my now
former husband and found myselfpregnant with my oldest daughter
(03:08):
and spent my time in my firstpregnancy essentially by myself.
And um, I had at the time was aprofessor at the University of
North Florida in Jacksonvilleand had an amazing support
system in Jacksonville, eventhough I didn't have my family
there.
I had some amazing folks in mycorner there.
(03:29):
And one of those amazing folkshappened to be Carol Alexander,
who at the time was uh theexecutive director of the Ridge
Theater and Museum, which is theAfrican-American um uh museum in
uh Jacksonville.
I worked with Carol um on somespecial projects and I was
(03:49):
pregnant during that time.
And Carol also lived about 10,15 minutes from me.
And she took very, very specialcare to make sure, especially
during that last time, you know,of my pregnancy, to make sure,
like, listen, I know your mom isplanning to come be with you
once you deliver, but I will beon standby for you in case you
happen to go into labor early,which I thought it meant meant a
(04:12):
great deal to me.
So, you know, I went into labor.
My mom actually had made it toJacksonville.
So I I, you know, didn't go intolabor early, had my daughter,
and I didn't really share withanyone that I was in the
hospital, but I did share withCarol that I delivered my
daughter, Leela.
And I'm in the hospital with mymom, had just given birth.
(04:35):
You know, Leela's a day or twoold.
And I look up in the hospital,in the hospital room, in comes
Carol, and in comes you, Dr.
Cole, into the hospital room.
And you all came to visit me andmy mom and the baby.
And you all were the onlyvisitors that I had in the
(04:57):
hospital room, and that meant somuch to me.
It was so sweet and so special.
And I just thought, what isJanetta Cole doing in my
hospital room?
You know, like what do you careabout, little me?
And it just, it just, you know,y'all didn't stay long, but it
just I will tell you what it hadto do with.
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Yes, tell me.
It had to do with something thatis so powerful, so precious, so
priceless, but so easy for me todescribe.
Today it's called sisterhood.
(05:39):
And while we can certainly thinkof incredibly dramatic examples
of this, whether it is HarrietTubman and what she did as a
(06:00):
woman to free yes men, but womenand children too.
And to be now a symbol of allthat for us.
And you know it can be mightyand magnificent, like like the
(06:22):
way a Coretta Scott King in thatschool up the road of peas
called Antioch.
Yeah that we were always incompetition with to see who was
the most progressive.
But the way that Coretta ScottKing of course she was the wife
(06:43):
of Martin Luther King Jr.
But she was a sister tocountless women, including
myself.
You know, we have these bigvisions of these women and what
they mean to those of us who arenot big like they.
(07:09):
But what I'm saying to you isthat that visit on that day in
that hospital that's aboutsisterhood too.
You were there.
I am so grateful.
I'm I am a woman of faith, andso I can say I thank God your
(07:31):
mom was there.
But you needed some sisters inthat room with you.
And the only thing I can say tojust sort of wind this up is
that at the center of what I'mtalking about is that when you
(07:52):
receive it, you gotta bereminded to keep on giving it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
Ugh, every chance I get, I do.
Because it is so important, andI will never forget that.
And that little baby will be 14in a few weeks.
And I have another baby.
She has a baby sister who'sfour.
So it is truly my joy to be thedaughter, to parent two girls
(08:22):
and to show them every day whatit means to have sisters and the
power of sisterhood, whetherthat's biological or
non-biological, familial or not.
Right.
So that is so important, and I'mso glad to have this full circle
moment with you in this space.
It is so it means everything,right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:43):
So you know I'm gonna pick up the phone the
moment we're off of thisconversation or finish this
conversation.
Tell her.
And I'm calling Carol Alexander.
You better because she's gonnacall Bootsy.
Bootsy, I know that.
And let her know that we hadthis sisterhood moment.
SPEAKER_00 (09:05):
Yes, and tell Carol that I miss her so I absolutely,
absolutely.
You know, I've been in Oberlinnow for almost a year and a
half, so I haven't been inOberlin very long.
And one of the things that Inoticed immediately after being
in higher education for about 24years is how unique of a place
(09:31):
Oberlin is.
I say this all the time, andpeople really don't understand.
It truly is no other place likeit.
And you have already talkedabout that.
What was it like being a studentat Oberlin?
And can you talk about howOberlin really is so different
compared to all of the otherplaces you have traversed in
(09:54):
higher education?
SPEAKER_01 (09:55):
I'm gonna do the best I can to be concise.
Okay.
Because I could go on for years.
That's okay.
But let's paint this image.
A young girl.
It's me, born into a family thatwas very prominent.
(10:22):
My great-grandfather, AbrahamLincoln Lewis.
AL Lewis, yes.
A.
Lewis, the founder of uhinsurance company, the founder
of the beach community in whichI now live.
Jacksonville's first blackmillionaire.
(10:45):
So I grew up, and my mom keptsaying, remember your great
grandfather who's a millionaire,not us.
SPEAKER_00 (10:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (10:54):
But I grew up not being poor, but I was clearly
growing up being black and agirl.
And the blessings that came tome that countered the
exceptionally effective racismthat always trumped the class
(11:21):
was that I was growing up inthis family that kept saying to
me, girl, that's how southern,parents begin almost every
conversation if it's in front ofsomebody who looked like me.
Girl, you got to grow up and dosomething about this.
(11:44):
So my parents believed ineducation like the devil
believes in sin.
And they had been fortunate.
My mother was a graduate ofWilberforce in Ohio.
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (12:02):
My father was a graduate of Knox College in
Tennessee.
And so when I was fifteen,they'd already sent me to the
first grade when I was five.
They wouldn't let me turn six.
When I was fifteen, they sent medowntown to take some tests, and
(12:24):
they said if I passed, I'd go tothe university.
Fifteen, I don't want to go to auniversity.
I want to be with mygirlfriends.
Yeah.
So stupidly, I checked all theright boxes.
And of course, off I went toFisk University.
It was an incredible year,Sister Professor.
(12:49):
It was an incredible year.
And then tragedy struck.
The most traumatic experience ofmy young life.
My father unexpectedly passedaway.
Oh my gosh.
And my sister, who is prettyfamous.
(13:11):
An Oberlin graduate.
And my mother said, You are sodistort.
You just can't get yourselftogether after your daddy's
death.
Go to Oberlin where your sisteris.
It will be better for you.
And I did.
I will never, ever, ever, everregret that decision.
(13:35):
As much as I cherish Fisk.
And so off I went to Oberlinwhere my sister was in the
conservatory.
Or is this maybe a double major.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Who would go on to sing leadroles and opera, especially in
(13:57):
Germany.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (13:59):
Lead roles as Salome as Madame Butterfly.
That's what a noble in educationdid for her.
Before she turned into a mightyenvironmentalist.
So here I come, the littlesister of this what shall I call
(14:24):
her, other than Diva.
All right?
But I arrived on that campus andit was was as if nothing made
sense and everything made senseat the same time.
I'd come from a fundamentallygood, solid Christian
(14:48):
background.
AME and I'm all of a sudden inthe middle of a community where
every religion of the world andwhere non-believers were in
communion.
Here I am coming from the southwith signs everywhere about what
(15:14):
I could and could not drink,where I couldn't drink it, what
school I couldn't go to, evenwhat library I could or could
not go.
And I'm in the middle of a placethat had been the first in my
country to admit black folk.
(15:36):
And the first in my country toadmit women.
And so Oberlin was anextraordinary and revolutionary
experience for me.
I am to this day still in closetouch with a roommate, a best
(16:03):
friend, and whose wedding Iserve, Cheedy and Dick Etchett.
I am still a very devotedOberlin alumna who will sing the
praises of my school if you evenbegin to say Oberlen But I'm
(16:29):
also right now in an intenselytroubled world and a country
that I can say I can on days noteven recognized.
And now I'm finally able to drawa closure on this.
But I find that it is to Oberlinand other places.
(16:50):
But Oberlin is always there thatI turn to try to understand.
It is to Oberlin and yes, otherplaces, but it's always to
Oberlin that I turn to get myfaith renewed, to get my
(17:16):
commitment to social justicefired up.
So I'm sorry, but you asked thequestion, so you're gonna get
long response you just got.
SPEAKER_00 (17:29):
I did.
You know, I I'm the professor,but I do feel like I'm sitting
in your class, right, justtaking notes.
And I think it is so, it is itis so enlightening to hear your
response.
And it's giving me chills tohear, you know, for you to
describe what it was like to bea student at Oberlin during the
(17:51):
time that you were there.
Because as you were talking, I'mthinking about some of the
students that I'm I'm you knowteaching right now, and really
excited for them to hear youtalk about your Oberlin
experience.
Some of the students that I Italk with and teach right now,
(18:11):
you know, they're really, Idon't want to say dismayed.
That's not the right word, butthey really are thinking about
how they can sort of forge theirown path forward now, especially
now in 2025, right?
Because you mentioned that a lotof the world that we see right
now definitely looks different.
(18:33):
I mean, there's some thingsabout our world right now that
is very different.
What kind of advice, what kindof things can you maybe share
with current day students aroundhow they make a path forward,
pathway forward, using whatthey're learning today at
Oberlin?
SPEAKER_01 (18:54):
I'm searching for the exact words because I know
what it is I want to say.
I beg of my OB, sisters,brothers, siblings to be as open
to the Oberlin experience aspossible.
I went there so absolutelycertain I was gonna be that
(19:18):
pediatrician.
I had talked about from beingknee high to a duck.
But when I walked into ProfessorGeorge Eaton Simpson's class,
when I walked out, I had saidgoodbye, pediatrics.
Hello anthropology.
(19:41):
Oberlin is a place where I begof you, my dearest and youngest,
to be so open to almost be thisis a strange way to put it.
To be Be intellectually naked,willing to try on different
(20:07):
ideas, different possibilities.
And I know your mammas and yourdaddies and your aunties and
your uncles and them grandpasand grandmas have told you what
you are supposed to go toOberlin and be.
But this is your time.
(20:27):
This is your time to discovernot only who you're gonna be,
but who you are.
Because that's connected.
And whatever is your passion,I've just got to beg you to
follow it.
(20:47):
I did.
I went home from Oberlin thatChristmas and told my grandpa I
was gonna be an anthropologist,and he looked at me, laughed,
and said, What's that?
I said, Well, you know, Papa,that's like, I'm gonna be like
Margaret Mead.
I'm gonna go around the worldand understand other cultures
(21:12):
and have a better understandingof my own.
And he said, Baby girl, how areyou gonna make a living doing
that?
And I remember holding back thetears till I could get to my
mother.
But she said to me, first ofall, remember your grandfather
didn't have the privilege youhave of getting a college
(21:34):
education.
So understand his question.
And your grandfather's right.
You're a young woman.
You do need to figure out howyou are gonna make a living.
But if anthropology is yourpassion, you have no choice but
(21:54):
to follow it.
And so, my Obi sisters andbrothers, my siblings, if you
haven't already found it, findthat passion, embrace it, and
follow it.
SPEAKER_00 (22:09):
What does they say?
You know, if you follow yourpassion, you never have to work
a day in your life.
And I think you did pretty well,right?
I think you turned out okay,right?
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Uh, not too badly.
I love a second chance from thebeginning, but oh gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
So I think that's a that would be a that's a great
question for us to to end on.
I mean, it's it's almostimpossible to sort of think
about questions to ask youbecause you've, you know,
amassed so many accolades overthe course of your career.
It's almost really an unfairquestion to ask you anything
related to your your legacy,right?
(22:48):
Like, you know, so to ask youlike what what's the most
memorable thing that you've donein your career?
So I'll ask you that question,right?
You know, sort of thinking aboutlike that second chance,
anything that you you would dodifferently, right?
So what would you dodifferently?
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Wow, I sure set myself up for something that I
didn't know was coming.
I'm gonna have to just say this.
If I had a second chance at allof this, I would have taken
better care of myself.
I sure would not change anythingabout being an anthropologist,
(23:33):
and I will never cease to be asocial justice activist.
But there's some self care thatI gave up in the process of
becoming who I became.
I'm now a member of the largestmarginalized community in the
(23:57):
world.
No, it's not that I am AfricanAmerican, it's not that I'm a
woman.
I'm in the community of thedisabled because I didn't take
care of myself.
And in graduate school I wassmoked in like a chimney and
(24:19):
contracted C O P D.
And so I am on oxygen.
Fortunately I'm able in asetting like this with you to
remove the cannula.
But we've got and I'm reallyspeaking to my young obese,
we've got to take care ofourselves.
(24:40):
When the diagnosis came and Iwent on the oxygen some years
later, I realized I couldn't goback and redo that.
But I have to take care ofmyself going forward.
And a wonderful group of mydearest, dearest friends.
(25:04):
We call ourselves the inclusionfamily.
Okay.
We're the DEAI family.
Okay.
Sent me a pillow when I came outof the hospital on oxygen.
And I look at it every day.
It's in my walk-in closet.
It has the words of Audrey Lord.
(25:27):
And I know you know who she was,is, and forever will be.
Absolutely.
The last line of this verypowerful set of words isn't
there, but I always add it eachday when I read what's on the
pillow.
It says, and this is my messageto my young and not so young
(25:54):
sisters and brothers andsiblings who are obese.
Audrey Lord said caring formyself is not self-indulgence,
it is self preservation.
(26:15):
And the last line, it is apolyptical act exclamation.
And so whether it's throughmeditation or prayer or to eat
or exercise or just finding away to be in communion with who
(26:43):
and what you need to be incommunion with.
Take care of yourself.
We need you folk in mygeneration.
I got a birthday in a couple ofdays.
Is it?
What day is your birthday?
Oh October nineteenth.
(27:04):
Oh my.
I will be eighty nine years old.
Oh my.
And I am able to be at somepeace about this because I know
(27:26):
that at a place called Oberlin,and thank goodness in other
places, there are young'unsgetting ready to carry on.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Thank you so much, Dr.
Cole.
Ugh and happy early birthday.
Can I share with you that mybirthday is coming up on the
24th?
So we got some celebrating todo.
Now wait a minute.
Are you a Libra or I'm aScorpio?
I'm a Scorpio.
You're a Scorpio.
(28:00):
Just so close.
Yes.
unknown (28:03):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (28:03):
And you're a sister, and that's what matters.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
That's right.
You are my sister.
And I want to say thank you somuch for this gift that you have
given us today.
We are truly so appreciative ofall the gems that you've given
us.
And you have reminded us whatleadership looks like.
It's about courage, it's aboutvision, it's about self-care and
transparency.
(28:28):
And thank you for being mysister.
I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
And I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:35):
Well, have a wonderful, wonderful birthday.
Thank you.
Again, thank you for this giftof your time and your presence.
And we are so, so appreciativeof the time that you've given us
today.
SPEAKER_01 (28:54):
Stay well and take care.
You too.
Keep the joy coming in yourlife.
Welcome to the North Star, where we sit with voices
reshaping how we think aboutleadership, equity, and justice.
In a season devoted todisruption, to those who
challenge norms and dream newfutures, we're really honored
today to host someone many mayconsider an American institution
in her own right.
Dr.
(00:20):
Jeanetta Cole, an OberlinCollege alumna from the class of
1957, is truly a luminary whoseinfluences stretch across
education, culture, and socialjustice.
Dr.
Cole was the firstAfrican-American woman to serve
as the president of someonecollege.
Dr.
Cole directed Smithsonian'sNational Museum of African Art.
(00:41):
So, over decades, Dr.
Cole's work has bridgedscholarship, cultural
expression, institutionalleadership, and activism, always
with an eye toward equity andcultural collective uplift.
And today we'll spend some timeexploring her Oberlin years, her
bold move moves throughinstitutions, and the wisdom she
offers for emerging leaders whowant to move, not just with
(01:05):
ambition, but with purpose.
So welcome, Dr.
Cole.
SPEAKER_01 (01:11):
I feel very welcome, Sister Professor.
And happy to be with you.
So I consider this really asquite a quite an honor, you
know, to spend time talkingabout what it was like to be an
(01:33):
obie in my early years.
But once an Obi, always an Obi.
I can't really capture in wordsthe amount of influence that I
think Oberlin College has hadnot just on me as a person, but
(01:57):
on all that I've managed to doas an academician, yes, as an
anthropologist, andfundamentally as a social
justice activist.
So thank you for inviting meinto your special space.
(02:18):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_00 (02:19):
Now, before you and I connected today in this
special space, you and I shareda previous very special space.
I have to share this storybecause it is just too cool not
to share.
Um so great.
You know, this is actuallysomething that I really very
(02:42):
rarely share, you know, with theworld, right?
Because this is ultimatelygonna, you know, live somewhere
on social media.
So shortly after I um gotmarried, I ultimately uh became
pregnant with my oldest daughterand sadly separated from my now
former husband and found myselfpregnant with my oldest daughter
(03:08):
and spent my time in my firstpregnancy essentially by myself.
And um, I had at the time was aprofessor at the University of
North Florida in Jacksonvilleand had an amazing support
system in Jacksonville, eventhough I didn't have my family
there.
I had some amazing folks in mycorner there.
(03:29):
And one of those amazing folkshappened to be Carol Alexander,
who at the time was uh theexecutive director of the Ridge
Theater and Museum, which is theAfrican-American um uh museum in
uh Jacksonville.
I worked with Carol um on somespecial projects and I was
(03:49):
pregnant during that time.
And Carol also lived about 10,15 minutes from me.
And she took very, very specialcare to make sure, especially
during that last time, you know,of my pregnancy, to make sure,
like, listen, I know your mom isplanning to come be with you
once you deliver, but I will beon standby for you in case you
happen to go into labor early,which I thought it meant meant a
(04:12):
great deal to me.
So, you know, I went into labor.
My mom actually had made it toJacksonville.
So I I, you know, didn't go intolabor early, had my daughter,
and I didn't really share withanyone that I was in the
hospital, but I did share withCarol that I delivered my
daughter, Leela.
And I'm in the hospital with mymom, had just given birth.
(04:35):
You know, Leela's a day or twoold.
And I look up in the hospital,in the hospital room, in comes
Carol, and in comes you, Dr.
Cole, into the hospital room.
And you all came to visit me andmy mom and the baby.
And you all were the onlyvisitors that I had in the
(04:57):
hospital room, and that meant somuch to me.
It was so sweet and so special.
And I just thought, what isJanetta Cole doing in my
hospital room?
You know, like what do you careabout, little me?
And it just, it just, you know,y'all didn't stay long, but it
just I will tell you what it hadto do with.
SPEAKER_01 (05:17):
Yes, tell me.
It had to do with something thatis so powerful, so precious, so
priceless, but so easy for me todescribe.
Today it's called sisterhood.
(05:39):
And while we can certainly thinkof incredibly dramatic examples
of this, whether it is HarrietTubman and what she did as a
(06:00):
woman to free yes men, but womenand children too.
And to be now a symbol of allthat for us.
And you know it can be mightyand magnificent, like like the
(06:22):
way a Coretta Scott King in thatschool up the road of peas
called Antioch.
Yeah that we were always incompetition with to see who was
the most progressive.
But the way that Coretta ScottKing of course she was the wife
(06:43):
of Martin Luther King Jr.
But she was a sister tocountless women, including
myself.
You know, we have these bigvisions of these women and what
they mean to those of us who arenot big like they.
(07:09):
But what I'm saying to you isthat that visit on that day in
that hospital that's aboutsisterhood too.
You were there.
I am so grateful.
I'm I am a woman of faith, andso I can say I thank God your
(07:31):
mom was there.
But you needed some sisters inthat room with you.
And the only thing I can say tojust sort of wind this up is
that at the center of what I'mtalking about is that when you
(07:52):
receive it, you gotta bereminded to keep on giving it.
SPEAKER_00 (07:58):
Ugh, every chance I get, I do.
Because it is so important, andI will never forget that.
And that little baby will be 14in a few weeks.
And I have another baby.
She has a baby sister who'sfour.
So it is truly my joy to be thedaughter, to parent two girls
(08:22):
and to show them every day whatit means to have sisters and the
power of sisterhood, whetherthat's biological or
non-biological, familial or not.
Right.
So that is so important, and I'mso glad to have this full circle
moment with you in this space.
It is so it means everything,right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:43):
So you know I'm gonna pick up the phone the
moment we're off of thisconversation or finish this
conversation.
Tell her.
And I'm calling Carol Alexander.
You better because she's gonnacall Bootsy.
Bootsy, I know that.
And let her know that we hadthis sisterhood moment.
SPEAKER_00 (09:05):
Yes, and tell Carol that I miss her so I absolutely,
absolutely.
You know, I've been in Oberlinnow for almost a year and a
half, so I haven't been inOberlin very long.
And one of the things that Inoticed immediately after being
in higher education for about 24years is how unique of a place
(09:31):
Oberlin is.
I say this all the time, andpeople really don't understand.
It truly is no other place likeit.
And you have already talkedabout that.
What was it like being a studentat Oberlin?
And can you talk about howOberlin really is so different
compared to all of the otherplaces you have traversed in
(09:54):
higher education?
SPEAKER_01 (09:55):
I'm gonna do the best I can to be concise.
Okay.
Because I could go on for years.
That's okay.
But let's paint this image.
A young girl.
It's me, born into a family thatwas very prominent.
(10:22):
My great-grandfather, AbrahamLincoln Lewis.
AL Lewis, yes.
A.
Lewis, the founder of uhinsurance company, the founder
of the beach community in whichI now live.
Jacksonville's first blackmillionaire.
(10:45):
So I grew up, and my mom keptsaying, remember your great
grandfather who's a millionaire,not us.
SPEAKER_00 (10:53):
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (10:54):
But I grew up not being poor, but I was clearly
growing up being black and agirl.
And the blessings that came tome that countered the
exceptionally effective racismthat always trumped the class
(11:21):
was that I was growing up inthis family that kept saying to
me, girl, that's how southern,parents begin almost every
conversation if it's in front ofsomebody who looked like me.
Girl, you got to grow up and dosomething about this.
(11:44):
So my parents believed ineducation like the devil
believes in sin.
And they had been fortunate.
My mother was a graduate ofWilberforce in Ohio.
SPEAKER_00 (12:00):
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (12:02):
My father was a graduate of Knox College in
Tennessee.
And so when I was fifteen,they'd already sent me to the
first grade when I was five.
They wouldn't let me turn six.
When I was fifteen, they sent medowntown to take some tests, and
(12:24):
they said if I passed, I'd go tothe university.
Fifteen, I don't want to go to auniversity.
I want to be with mygirlfriends.
Yeah.
So stupidly, I checked all theright boxes.
And of course, off I went toFisk University.
It was an incredible year,Sister Professor.
(12:49):
It was an incredible year.
And then tragedy struck.
The most traumatic experience ofmy young life.
My father unexpectedly passedaway.
Oh my gosh.
And my sister, who is prettyfamous.
(13:11):
An Oberlin graduate.
And my mother said, You are sodistort.
You just can't get yourselftogether after your daddy's
death.
Go to Oberlin where your sisteris.
It will be better for you.
And I did.
I will never, ever, ever, everregret that decision.
(13:35):
As much as I cherish Fisk.
And so off I went to Oberlinwhere my sister was in the
conservatory.
Or is this maybe a double major.
Oh my gosh.
Oh my gosh.
Who would go on to sing leadroles and opera, especially in
(13:57):
Germany.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
Oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_01 (13:59):
Lead roles as Salome as Madame Butterfly.
That's what a noble in educationdid for her.
Before she turned into a mightyenvironmentalist.
So here I come, the littlesister of this what shall I call
(14:24):
her, other than Diva.
All right?
But I arrived on that campus andit was was as if nothing made
sense and everything made senseat the same time.
I'd come from a fundamentallygood, solid Christian
(14:48):
background.
AME and I'm all of a sudden inthe middle of a community where
every religion of the world andwhere non-believers were in
communion.
Here I am coming from the southwith signs everywhere about what
(15:14):
I could and could not drink,where I couldn't drink it, what
school I couldn't go to, evenwhat library I could or could
not go.
And I'm in the middle of a placethat had been the first in my
country to admit black folk.
(15:36):
And the first in my country toadmit women.
And so Oberlin was anextraordinary and revolutionary
experience for me.
I am to this day still in closetouch with a roommate, a best
(16:03):
friend, and whose wedding Iserve, Cheedy and Dick Etchett.
I am still a very devotedOberlin alumna who will sing the
praises of my school if you evenbegin to say Oberlen But I'm
(16:29):
also right now in an intenselytroubled world and a country
that I can say I can on days noteven recognized.
And now I'm finally able to drawa closure on this.
But I find that it is to Oberlinand other places.
(16:50):
But Oberlin is always there thatI turn to try to understand.
It is to Oberlin and yes, otherplaces, but it's always to
Oberlin that I turn to get myfaith renewed, to get my
(17:16):
commitment to social justicefired up.
So I'm sorry, but you asked thequestion, so you're gonna get
long response you just got.
SPEAKER_00 (17:29):
I did.
You know, I I'm the professor,but I do feel like I'm sitting
in your class, right, justtaking notes.
And I think it is so, it is itis so enlightening to hear your
response.
And it's giving me chills tohear, you know, for you to
describe what it was like to bea student at Oberlin during the
(17:51):
time that you were there.
Because as you were talking, I'mthinking about some of the
students that I'm I'm you knowteaching right now, and really
excited for them to hear youtalk about your Oberlin
experience.
Some of the students that I Italk with and teach right now,
(18:11):
you know, they're really, Idon't want to say dismayed.
That's not the right word, butthey really are thinking about
how they can sort of forge theirown path forward now, especially
now in 2025, right?
Because you mentioned that a lotof the world that we see right
now definitely looks different.
(18:33):
I mean, there's some thingsabout our world right now that
is very different.
What kind of advice, what kindof things can you maybe share
with current day students aroundhow they make a path forward,
pathway forward, using whatthey're learning today at
Oberlin?
SPEAKER_01 (18:54):
I'm searching for the exact words because I know
what it is I want to say.
I beg of my OB, sisters,brothers, siblings to be as open
to the Oberlin experience aspossible.
I went there so absolutelycertain I was gonna be that
(19:18):
pediatrician.
I had talked about from beingknee high to a duck.
But when I walked into ProfessorGeorge Eaton Simpson's class,
when I walked out, I had saidgoodbye, pediatrics.
Hello anthropology.
(19:41):
Oberlin is a place where I begof you, my dearest and youngest,
to be so open to almost be thisis a strange way to put it.
To be Be intellectually naked,willing to try on different
(20:07):
ideas, different possibilities.
And I know your mammas and yourdaddies and your aunties and
your uncles and them grandpasand grandmas have told you what
you are supposed to go toOberlin and be.
But this is your time.
(20:27):
This is your time to discovernot only who you're gonna be,
but who you are.
Because that's connected.
And whatever is your passion,I've just got to beg you to
follow it.
(20:47):
I did.
I went home from Oberlin thatChristmas and told my grandpa I
was gonna be an anthropologist,and he looked at me, laughed,
and said, What's that?
I said, Well, you know, Papa,that's like, I'm gonna be like
Margaret Mead.
I'm gonna go around the worldand understand other cultures
(21:12):
and have a better understandingof my own.
And he said, Baby girl, how areyou gonna make a living doing
that?
And I remember holding back thetears till I could get to my
mother.
But she said to me, first ofall, remember your grandfather
didn't have the privilege youhave of getting a college
(21:34):
education.
So understand his question.
And your grandfather's right.
You're a young woman.
You do need to figure out howyou are gonna make a living.
But if anthropology is yourpassion, you have no choice but
(21:54):
to follow it.
And so, my Obi sisters andbrothers, my siblings, if you
haven't already found it, findthat passion, embrace it, and
follow it.
SPEAKER_00 (22:09):
What does they say?
You know, if you follow yourpassion, you never have to work
a day in your life.
And I think you did pretty well,right?
I think you turned out okay,right?
SPEAKER_01 (22:20):
Uh, not too badly.
I love a second chance from thebeginning, but oh gosh.
SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
So I think that's a that would be a that's a great
question for us to to end on.
I mean, it's it's almostimpossible to sort of think
about questions to ask youbecause you've, you know,
amassed so many accolades overthe course of your career.
It's almost really an unfairquestion to ask you anything
related to your your legacy,right?
(22:48):
Like, you know, so to ask youlike what what's the most
memorable thing that you've donein your career?
So I'll ask you that question,right?
You know, sort of thinking aboutlike that second chance,
anything that you you would dodifferently, right?
So what would you dodifferently?
SPEAKER_01 (23:04):
Wow, I sure set myself up for something that I
didn't know was coming.
I'm gonna have to just say this.
If I had a second chance at allof this, I would have taken
better care of myself.
I sure would not change anythingabout being an anthropologist,
(23:33):
and I will never cease to be asocial justice activist.
But there's some self care thatI gave up in the process of
becoming who I became.
I'm now a member of the largestmarginalized community in the
(23:57):
world.
No, it's not that I am AfricanAmerican, it's not that I'm a
woman.
I'm in the community of thedisabled because I didn't take
care of myself.
And in graduate school I wassmoked in like a chimney and
(24:19):
contracted C O P D.
And so I am on oxygen.
Fortunately I'm able in asetting like this with you to
remove the cannula.
But we've got and I'm reallyspeaking to my young obese,
we've got to take care ofourselves.
(24:40):
When the diagnosis came and Iwent on the oxygen some years
later, I realized I couldn't goback and redo that.
But I have to take care ofmyself going forward.
And a wonderful group of mydearest, dearest friends.
(25:04):
We call ourselves the inclusionfamily.
Okay.
We're the DEAI family.
Okay.
Sent me a pillow when I came outof the hospital on oxygen.
And I look at it every day.
It's in my walk-in closet.
It has the words of Audrey Lord.
(25:27):
And I know you know who she was,is, and forever will be.
Absolutely.
The last line of this verypowerful set of words isn't
there, but I always add it eachday when I read what's on the
pillow.
It says, and this is my messageto my young and not so young
(25:54):
sisters and brothers andsiblings who are obese.
Audrey Lord said caring formyself is not self-indulgence,
it is self preservation.
(26:15):
And the last line, it is apolyptical act exclamation.
And so whether it's throughmeditation or prayer or to eat
or exercise or just finding away to be in communion with who
(26:43):
and what you need to be incommunion with.
Take care of yourself.
We need you folk in mygeneration.
I got a birthday in a couple ofdays.
Is it?
What day is your birthday?
Oh October nineteenth.
(27:04):
Oh my.
I will be eighty nine years old.
Oh my.
And I am able to be at somepeace about this because I know
(27:26):
that at a place called Oberlin,and thank goodness in other
places, there are young'unsgetting ready to carry on.
SPEAKER_00 (27:39):
Thank you so much, Dr.
Cole.
Ugh and happy early birthday.
Can I share with you that mybirthday is coming up on the
24th?
So we got some celebrating todo.
Now wait a minute.
Are you a Libra or I'm aScorpio?
I'm a Scorpio.
You're a Scorpio.
(28:00):
Just so close.
Yes.
unknown (28:03):
Yes.
SPEAKER_01 (28:03):
And you're a sister, and that's what matters.
SPEAKER_00 (28:06):
That's right.
You are my sister.
And I want to say thank you somuch for this gift that you have
given us today.
We are truly so appreciative ofall the gems that you've given
us.
And you have reminded us whatleadership looks like.
It's about courage, it's aboutvision, it's about self-care and
transparency.
(28:28):
And thank you for being mysister.
I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_01 (28:33):
And I appreciate you.
SPEAKER_00 (28:35):
Well, have a wonderful, wonderful birthday.
Thank you.
Again, thank you for this giftof your time and your presence.
And we are so, so appreciativeof the time that you've given us
today.
SPEAKER_01 (28:54):
Stay well and take care.
You too.
Keep the joy coming in yourlife.
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