Political Quotes

“the other day I read an article in the Chicago Sun Times about an incredible Chicagoan named Edith Renfrow Smith. Yesterday, Edith celebrated her 107th--let me say that again--107th birthday. And learning about her life story, it occurred to me that it is really the story of America. Edith is the grandchild of two people who were born into slavery. When she was 23, she became the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College in Iowa. Think about that. In just two generations, her family went from enduring bondage to earning a bachelor's degree. After she graduated, Edith traveled east to Chicago in search of job opportunities. She spent a few years working for the University of Chicago, and she even served as a secretary for the first Black Congressman to represent a district north of the Mason-Dixon Line: Oscar DePriest. Eventually, Edith found her calling as a public school teacher. She devoted more than two decades of her life educating our city's children. One of her colleagues described her as a ``master teacher.'' As a resident of Hyde Park, where she raised a family with her husband Henry, Edith became close friends with Jazz legend Herbie Hancock. And in recent years, she has become something of a living legend herself. In 2019, her alma mater, Grinnell College, opened a new library named in Edith's honor: the Edith Renfrow Smith `37 Black Women's Library. Edith is a humble person.…”