Johnnetta Cole will serve as Martin Luther King Jr. keynote speaker
Johnnetta Cole will deliver the 6th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. keynote address in Burruss Hall auditorium Jan. 17, 2011, from 6 to 8 pm.
Cole is an advocate for issues of race, gender, and all other forms of discrimination. Her powerful messages call for the removal of barriers that prevent individuals from achieving the ultimate rise to success.
Author, educator, and humanitarian, Cole has carved out a remarkable career that includes serving as the 14th president of Bennett College for Women in North Carolina. She was the first African American woman to serve as president of Spelman College as well as the first African American woman to hold the position of Chair of the Board of the United Way of America.
Cole is president emeritus of Spelman College and professor emeritus of Emory University from which she retired as Presidential Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Women’s Studies, and African American Studies. She is the author of numerous publications for scholarly and general audiences. Her most recent publication is a book co-authored with Beverly Guy-Sheftall, “Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women’s Equality in African American Communities.”
Cole serves as a board member for the Carter Center, the National Visionary Leadership Project, the United Way of Greater Greensboro, Merck & Company Inc., and the National Football League’s Atlanta Falcons. She is a consultant on diversity issues for Citigroup and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Cole has received 48 honorary degrees and has received numerous awards including the TransAfrica Forum Global Public Service Award. She currently serves as the director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art.
For more information contact the Office for Diversity and Inclusion or (540) 231-3811. If you are a person with a disability and may need an accommodation to participate in this program, please notify Linda Faber or (540) 231-1403.
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