Johnnetta Cole facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Johnnetta Cole
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Cole in 2015
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Johnnetta Betsch
October 19, 1936 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | Fisk University Oberlin College (BA) Northwestern University (MA, PhD) |
Johnnetta Betsch Cole (born October 19, 1936) is an important American anthropologist, educator, and museum director. She has also been the president of two colleges. Dr. Cole made history as the first African-American woman to lead Spelman College, a famous college for women. She also served as the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art. From 2018 to 2022, she was the national chair and president of the National Council of Negro Women.
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Early Life and Education
Johnnetta Betsch was born in Jacksonville, Florida, on October 19, 1936. Her family was well-known. Her grandfather, Abraham Lincoln Lewis, was Florida's first black millionaire and a successful businessman. He helped start the Afro-American Industrial and Benefit Association. Her great-grandparents included Zephaniah Kingsley, who owned a large plantation, and Anna Madgigine Jai. Anna was a strong woman who became a landowner herself. Their home on Fort George Island is now a protected place called Kingsley Plantation.
Johnnetta Cole started college at Fisk University when she was only 15. She later moved to Oberlin College in Ohio, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology in 1957. She continued her studies at Northwestern University. There, she earned her Master of Arts (1959) and Doctor of Philosophy (1967) degrees in anthropology. Anthropology is the study of human societies and cultures. For her research, she traveled to Liberia, a country in West Africa, in 1960–1961.
A Career in Teaching
Dr. Cole began her teaching career at Washington State University in 1962. She taught there until 1970. During this time, she helped create one of the first black studies programs in the United States. These programs focus on the history and culture of African Americans.
In 1970, Dr. Cole joined the Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She stayed there until 1982. She was very important in developing the university's W. E. B. Du Bois Department of African-American Studies. Later, in 1982, she moved to Hunter College. There, she became the director of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program. From 1998 to 2001, Dr. Cole was a professor at Emory University in Atlanta. She taught anthropology, women's studies, and African American studies.
Leading Colleges and Museums
In 1987, Dr. Cole was chosen to be the president of Spelman College. This was a big moment because she was the first African-American woman to lead this respected historically black college for women. She served as president until 1997. During her time, she helped the college raise a lot of money, about $113 million. This helped the school grow and attract more students. Spelman College's ranking among the best liberal arts schools also improved. Famous comedian Bill Cosby and his wife Camille gave $20 million to the college during this time.
After teaching at Emory University, Dr. Cole became the president of Bennett College for Women. This is another historically black college for women. She also led a successful fundraising effort there. She even started an art gallery to add to the college's culture. Today, Dr. Cole is the Chair of the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute at Bennett College. She is also a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
From 2009 to 2017, Dr. Cole was the Director of the National Museum of African Art. This museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. During her time there, the museum held an exhibit called "Conversations: African and African-American Artworks in Dialogue." This exhibit showed many art pieces from Bill and Camille Cosby's private collection.
Community Service and Leadership
Dr. Cole has also served on the boards of major companies and foundations. For many years, she was a board member at the important Rockefeller Foundation. Since 1994, she has been a director at Merck & Co., a large pharmaceutical company. From 2004 to 2006, Dr. Cole was the Chair of the Board of Trustees for United Way of America. She is also on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater Greensboro. She works as a senior fellow at the Kettering Foundation, which is a research foundation.
Since 2013, Dr. Cole has been part of the Advisory Council of the National Center for Science Education. She is also a member of The Links, a group of professional African-American women.
Involvement in Politics
In 1992, when Bill Clinton was elected president, he asked Dr. Cole to join his team. She helped with plans for education, labor, the arts, and humanities. President Clinton even thought about making her his Secretary of Education. However, some concerns were raised about her past associations, and her nomination did not move forward.
Awards and Recognition
Dr. Johnnetta Cole has received many honors for her work:
- In 2018, she received the Legend in Leadership Award for Higher Education from the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute.
- The American Alliance of Museums honored Dr. Johnnetta Cole with the 2017 Award for Distinguished Service to Museums.
- In 2013, she received the Alston-Jones International Civil and Human Rights Award. This is the highest award from the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
- Dr. Cole has been given more than 40 honorary degrees from colleges and universities. These include Williams College, Bates College, Oberlin College, Mount Holyoke College, Mills College, Howard University, North Carolina A&T State University, and Gettysburg College.
- In 1996, she received honorary membership in Phi Beta Kappa from Yale.
- In 1995, she received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
- In 1988, she received a Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.
Inspiring Words
I pose that question to myself, why, in the 107 years of the history of this historically Black college for women, there has not been an African-American woman president.
This is a nation whose spoken and written vision is chillingly beautiful.
The more we pull together toward a new day, the less it matters what pushed us apart in the past.
We are for difference: for respecting difference for allowing difference, for encouraging difference, until difference no longer makes a difference.
The ultimate expression of generosity is not in giving of what you have, but in giving of who you are.
