The Renfrow Story

This is the power of her attention and regard, and all of you in this room who have had the honor and the joy of speaking with Mrs. Renfrow Smith have experienced this light on you. 

Grinnell College President Anne Harris, April 26, 2023

In a lovely room in Chicago’s Brookdale retirement community, a group of family, friends, and fellow alumni gathered April 26th to celebrate Edith Renfrow Smith and the naming of Renfrow Hall in her honor. The guest of honor was dressed in a sparkling new pantsuit purchased by a relative who came from Atlanta just for this event. Others had come from around the country to share in the celebration. Their love for her and pride in their family permeated the air and rested as a blanket of joy and delight on each person present.

President Harris shared glimpses of Edith’s magic, something personally experienced by nearly everyone in the room to varying degrees. She introduced a video recorded by legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, who grew up next door to the Smiths and attended Grinnell College because of Edith’s encouragement. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing Mrs. Smith since I was a child and I can attest to the fact that she is one of the most remarkable individuals I have ever encountered,” said Hancock.

The next surprise came with the reading of a letter from another notable Chicago icon, Barack Obama.

Over the course of your life, you have embodied the very best of America. From breaking barriers in education as the first Black woman to graduate from Grinnell College to your tireless service as a Chicago school teacher, you have made an impact that will endure for decades to come.

President Barack Obama in a letter to Edith Renfrow Smith

While the words of each of the famous men were wonderful to hear, it was the sharing that came later from her friends and family that most warmed my heart. Great nieces and nephews recalled hanging out in her basement, feasting on her cooking, and learning the family history from her. Stories flowed of how she connected with each one – through teaching, through volunteering, through her mere presence and sincere care for each individual. Hers is a life of encouragement that continues to ripple through the world in the actions of those she inspired.

It left me a bit reflective. If I’m being honest, it left me feeling unworthy. Who am I to believe I’m the right person to author a book about her? As the niggling self-doubt worked into my consciousness, I realized that I needed to take to heart the advice I have heard Edith say so many times. Her mother’s words – that I have built the entire story around – no one is any better than you. It is a message that transcends age and race and class and calls us out of those valleys of self-doubt that plague us all.

Many of us experience moments when we feel we are stepping beyond our comfort zone, into a new venture that we’re not sure we’re fully equipped to complete. Challenged to do something new, or something hard, or something others don’t believe we should do.

I can’t help but think of 18 year old Edith as she set her mind to attend Grinnell College. Imagine being in her position, facing that dream, standing firm against the obstacles and the discrimination, the doubters and the haters.

Those are the moments when we need encouragement and assurance. Someone who looks us in the eyes and says, “You can do this. I believe in you.” That is the kind of person her mother was, telling the children from the time they were little that no one was any better than them. Telling them to stand tall and be confident that they were up to every challenge.

As I’ve had time to reflect on all that has happened in the last few weeks, I thought back to that day when I first read her the story. And I reminded myself of her response. She said, “You see, you were the one who knew how to do it.” So I hold on to that knowing that if she trusts me with this, that I need to believe I can do her justice.

I am humbled to be a student taking in the lesson of her life and, as President Harris put it, experiencing the power of her light on my journey. I pray I can do it justice.

A few photos from the gathering

Before the main event, Tamara and I went to her apartment to present her with the certificate and medal as a “Woman of American History” honoree, which the Grinnell chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution had entrusted to me a couple of weeks back. The gathering of friends and family was in a beautifully decorated room in the Brookdale retirement community where she lives. In legendary Edith form, she slipped out at one point and returned with a tray full of homemade mints which she proceeded to take around to every guest. In more ways than one, they were the best mints I have ever had.