“[Mama] said, ‘I don’t care who it is. There is no one born any better than you are. They may have more money and they may be more beautiful. They may have outward things. But there’s no one any better.’ So naturally if you’re taught there’s no one any better than you are, why you think you’re pretty special. And so, I think that that made a great difference.”
– Edith Renfrow Smith recounting the life motto of her mother, Mrs. Eva Pearl Craig Renfrow (1875-1962)
These are the eyes of Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith, Grinnell College’s first Black alumna. Descended from mid-19th century freedom seekers to Iowa, she was born in Grinnell, IA and nurtured in a Black extended family. At a vibrant and engaged 109, the retired teacher and lifelong volunteer proudly embodies the community spirit of a “true Grinnellian.”
"Grinnell Has Been My Life"
"I Recruited Myself"
Teaching, Volunteering, and Superaging
