Motivational Speaker | The HistoryMakers

Carole Copeland Thomas

Motivational speaker and business consultant Carole Copeland Thomas was born on August 21, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan. Thomas graduated from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan, and went on to earn her B.A. degree in music, with honors, from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 1975. Thomas enrolled at Northeastern University, in Boston, Massachusetts, on a Martin Luther King, Jr. academic fellowship, earning her M.B.A. degree in 1985.

Thomas began her career working in sales for Mary Kay Cosmetics, eventually becoming an independent sales director in 1975. Thomas moved to Boston with her then husband and family, working for the Bank of New England and The Gillette Company as an assistant product manager. Thomas founded Temporary Solutions, a temporary employment agency, in 1987. By 1989, the agency had grown into a full service speaking, training, and facilitation company called C. Thomas and Associates, specializing in diversity, multicultural, leadership, and empowerment issues. Thomas served as a town coordinator for Governor Deval Patrick’s 2006 campaign. In 2008, Thomas started The Multicultural Symposium Series (MSS), a face to face, online, and on the air initiative designed to advance the cause of multiculturalism. She hosted the weekly radio talk show “Focus on Empowerment” on Boston’s WILD 1090 AM radio, and subsequently on WBNW 1120 AM and Internet radio, from 2003 to 2009. Thomas has spoken at the Federal Highway Administration, SHRM, Hewlett Packard, Verizon, and Cargill, and Monster.com.

Thomas authored several books, including 21 Ways To Bring Multiculturalism To Your Job Your Home and Your Community and Real Women, Real Issues: Positive Collaborations for Business Success. She also served as the executive coach for the Essence Magazine Leadership Summit. Thomas became a life member of the National Black MBA Association in 1986, serving as president of the Boston Chapter, national vice chair, and a co-founder of the Leaders of Tomorrow program. She served as the Tri State coordinator for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, and as the chair of the Multicultural Committee for the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Thomas also served as an adjunct professor at Bentley University.

Thomas has three children: Lorna, Michelle, and the late Mickarl, as well as two grandchildren, Julianna and Gabrielle.

Carole Copeland Thomas was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 18, 2016.

Accession Number

A2016.104

Sex

Female

Interview Date

10/18/2016

11/15/2018

Last Name

Thomas

Maker Category

CivicMakers

Occupation

Motivational Speaker

Business Consultant

Organizations

National Speakers Association

Northeast Human Resources Association

Schools

Emory University

Northeastern University

Cass Technical High School

Beaubien Middle School

Vandenberg Elementary School

George N. Brady Elementary School

First Name

Carole Copeland

Birth City, State, Country

Detroit

HM ID

THO25

Favorite Season

Fall

State

Michigan

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2016.104

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/667310

Favorite Vacation Destination

Mombasa, Kenya

Favorite Quote

Those Who Cannot Learn From History Are Doomed To Repeat It.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Massachusetts

Interview Description

A2016_104_EAD.pdf

A2016_104_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

8/21/1953

Birth Place Term

Detroit

Speakers Bureau Region City

Boston

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Shrimp

Short Description

Motivational speaker and business consultant Carole Copeland Thomas (1953 – ) founded the temporary employment agency Temporary Solutions in 1987, which grew into C. Thomas and Associates, a full service speaking, training, and facilitation company.

Employment

C Thomas & Associates

Mary Kay Inc

Gillette

Favorite Color

Red

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/667338

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667307">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Carole Copeland Thomas' interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667308">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Carole Copeland Thomas lists her favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667309">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her mother's family background, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667310">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her mother's family background, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667311">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her mother's family background, pt. 3</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667312">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers her maternal grandfather</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667313">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about her mother's upbringing in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667314">Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her father's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667315">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about her father's education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667316">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her father experiences as a Tuskegee Airman</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667317">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes how her parents met</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667318">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers her parent's careers</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667319">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about her father's relocation to Ghana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667320">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her parents' personalities and who she takes after</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667321">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about her brother</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667322">Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667323">Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667324">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her schooling in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667325">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her childhood activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667326">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers the riots in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667327">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about the emergence of gangs in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667328">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes the arts program at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667329">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers her friends from Cass Technical High School</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667330">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about her early aspirations</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667331">Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her experiences at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667332">Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Carole Copeland Thomas recalls the prevalence of racial terrorism in Georgia during the 1970s</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667333">Tape: 3 Story: 10 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers Juanita Jones Abernathy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667334">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her experiences as a saleswoman for Mary Kay Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667335">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers moving to Norristown, Pennsylvania</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667336">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Carole Copeland Thomas remembers her husband's transfer to Boston, Massachusetts</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667337">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Carole Copeland Thomas recalls buying a home in Middleton, Massachusetts</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667338">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Carole Copeland Thomas recalls her M.B.A. degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667339">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about the community support for her graduate education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667340">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Carole Copeland Thomas describes her experiences at The Gillette Company</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/667341">Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Carole Copeland Thomas talks about the benefits of an M.B.A. degree</a>

DASession

1$1

DATape

1$4

DAStory

4$5

DATitle

Carole Copeland Thomas describes her mother's family background, pt. 2

Carole Thomas Copeland recalls her M.B.A. degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts

Transcript

My mother's mother's [Nora Charleston] side of the family, that is the Branch [ph.] family. I don't know as much about them and I'll go back and give you some information about the Gaines side of the family, but the Branch side of the family also from Georgia, including the Savannah, Georgia area, other parts of, of Georgia. My grandmother, my great-grandmother who I did not know because she had passed away on my mother's side was biracial and grew up in Hamilton, Georgia. Her father was the plantation owner and her mother was a slave woman and this man had two sets of families from what I have been told and my grandmother was the black side of the family and he probably had white children also, so that's the lineage I know. I don't know much about that side of the family, but that's the Branch side of the family. One of the Branch members though, the Batchelor-Branch family, one of my distant cousins on the same side of that family who now lives in Detroit [Michigan], was the first African American admitted into the Daughters of the American Revolution because her mother's side of the family, she is related to me on her father's side, her mother's could trace their roots back to the Revolutionary time and the Pilgrims time and that constituted her being allowed to be part of the DAR. She was the first black member probably in the late '70s [1970s], early '80s [1980s].$$So she had roots that (simultaneous)--?$$(Simultaneous) Karen, Karen Batchelor [Karen Batchelor Farmer] is her name.$$Okay.$$Her name is Karen Batchelor, so--$$Karen Batchelor had roots that went all the way back to--$$To the--$$--to the settlement of Massachusetts--$$Correct.$$--to the Pilgrims or Puritans--$$Correct.$$--of the 1600s?$$Correct, yes, yeah.$$So here we are in Massachusetts, here we are full circle--$$(Laughter) Right.$$--too.$$Yes, in a way, yeah you can say that.$$Okay, so--$$So she, that's the Batchelor side of the family and that was her mother's mother's side of the family, this is my grandmother, my again, maternal.$$This is all of your father's of your father's side.$$No, this is all on my mother's [Gwendolyn Charleston Copeland] side of the family.$$Your--okay, okay.$$All on my mother's side.$$The maternal side of your mother's side of the family?$$Now I'm talking about the maternal side of my mother's side. The paternal side is the, the family that had the six hundred acres of land--$$Oh, okay.$$--the Gaines family, G-A-I-N-E-S.$$Okay, understood.$$Right.$$That's the paternal side, okay.$$Right. One aspect of the Gaines family, there are lots of things, with the Gaines family were sort of connected to the Thurgood Marshall family because we have roots in Baltimore [Maryland], that's another story. We, our family owned a bank in Baltimore that just closed about five years ago, five or six years ago, one of those little small community banks, Ideal Savings Bank [Ideal Federal Savings Bank], I believe that was the name of it and in 1865, I believe that's the year, January, 1865 as Sherman [William Tecumseh Sherman] was burning down Georgia and he decided not to burn Savannah, my, one of my ancestors, Reverend William Gaines was actually in a meeting that was recorded with other leading black people in Savannah and they met with General Sherman to discuss the outcome of blacks once they were going to be freed. I can pull that up online and show it to you, so it's, it's, it's Google searchable. But there were about nineteen leaders and he was one of them, he represented the ministerial community, the minister in the community, in Savannah and that was--$$Was he A.M.E. [African Methodist Episcopal] as well or--?$$He was not--he was part of the Methodist church because the A.M.E. church didn't get to the South until after the Civil War, for obvious reasons. So it started--the A.M.E. church was started in Philadelphia [Pennsylvania] by freed blacks and did not and then affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal churches in the South after the Civil War.$$The southern Methodists--$$Right.$$--because they had split off because of slavery, yeah.$$Right, right. So that group lined up with the A.M.E. church after the Civil War, so Reverend Gaines was part of the Methodist Episcopal church I believe which ultimately became the, the A.M.E. church.$Now you pursued an M.B.A. from Northeastern [Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts] and you entered the program in 1983, what prompted that--?$$I was still in Mary Kay [Mary Kay Inc.], but I was looking beyond Mary Kay. I didn't have the kind of success that some of my colleagues had had, certainly didn't have the success that Juanita Abernathy [Juanita Jones Abernathy] had had or Lenny Woods [ph.], or some of the other great black directors and then national sales directors, and, and I wanted to go back to school and business was an area that I wanted to pursue. I just didn't have the money to go back to school. Dr. Virgil Wood [Virgil A. Wood], I don't know if you've interviewed him, another great civil rights leader, minister, Baptist preacher, still living, was a friend of my husband's [Copeland Thomas' ex-husband, Mickarl Thomas, Sr.] at that time and was also the dean of the African American Institute [John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute] at Northeastern, I talked with him and, and said I'd love to go back to school, Northeastern is a school I would certainly like to look at, I don't have the money (laughter) tuition wise to go to school and he said, "You, you know there are opportunities to get a scholarship, so apply," which I did. I did not do well on my GMAT [Graduate Management Admission Test] exams and they recommended I take them over again. I did not take them over again, but I was accepted to Northeastern and I won a full scholarship, so I won a Martin Luther King scholarship [Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Graduate Fellowship Program] to pay for everything except my books at Northeastern and that's how I was able to go back to school in 1983.$$Okay and at, at this juncture you're, you've really switched gears, you've gone into business right and not pursuing voice any longer--$$No.$$--singing career?$$No, no, I'm, I'm fully engaged in the business world (laughter).$$Okay, all right, well who were some of your professors at Northeastern and what did you learn there?$$It was a two year rigorous program and I guess one professor who comes to mind is Jonathan Pond who was one of my accounting professors I believe, very colorful person, but a very enthusiastic person, one-- somebody I could relate to. He also did a little bit of TV work. He does TV work now if he's still--I'm sure he's still in the area, he would do little segments about saving money or you know, building your wealth, or those kinds of things and that I think as a result of the work he did at Northeastern, but he was just a very encouraging person and I, I had some tough classes. I had, I, I, I failed two classes. My first year, my first semester, I failed a statistics class and an accounting class, failed them flat and remember I'd been a very good student. I'd never failed anything before, this was the first time I had ever failed in life and that drew me closer to the black students who were on that campus, other graduate students in the program; Willie Shellman who is a friend to this day, he is president of the Tuskegee Airmen New England Chapter [New England Chapter Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.] and others who took me under their wing and they said, "You're doing it wrong," (laughter). "First you all have to collaborate, you need to take this teacher, don't take that one, he's racist, take this one." So they schooled me in terms of who to take. There was a loose affiliation of the black students and they didn't really have an association per se, but it was like the forerunner of the I guess, the student version of the National Black MBA Association of which I became a part of immediately after college, after graduate school, but these students and African students who were my classmates from Mali, I had two African students who I was in school with and I used to bring them to my house, cook for them and we'd sit at the dining room table in Middleton [Massachusetts] and study. So I learned how to collaborate and work with others so that I could move ahead. As I moved ahead they moved ahead also and I didn't have to do that in college because I was, it was more of an independent thrust and work that I did independently, but in graduate school is where I really learned how to work as a team and work in a team and realize that my success was not necessarily based on just me, it was based on me collaborating with other people. So between the African students, the Jamaican students, a Seventh-day Adventists, I remember--oh he was brilliant. He was actually one time teaching, I can't think of his name right now, but he was teaching the class and the teacher was mesmerized and said, "Wait, wait a minute, I'm teaching this class," (laughter). So I had some brilliant people, a lot of guys, who were my friends and we helped each other to get through.$$Okay.$$Also, Dr. Bill Tita [William Tiga Tita], T-I-T-A, an African American from Africa originally, he is still living and he was my advisor in grad school and so I also give him credit.

Read more about Carole Copeland Thomas

Lewis E. Dodley

Youth Advocate and Motivational Speaker Lewis E. Dodley was born on December 25, 1940 in Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from East High School in Columbus and went on to attend Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. Dodley has received extensive training to become a Violence Prevention Certification Specialist and a Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor (CCDCIII). He is also a Certified Afrocentric National Rites of Passage Elder and Trainer.

Dodley joined Ohio’s Department of Youth Services in 1960 as a staff development trainer. Ten years later, he also began serving as director of family services for Rosemont Family Center. Dodley received his Ph.D. degree in psychology and guidance counseling from the Ohio State University in 1981. Since 1984, he has served as a trainer and consultant for Youth to Youth International, a drug and violence prevention organization. In 1987, Dodley became a project director and consultant for Salesian Boys Club. He organized the Simba Circle in 1993, a two-week male rites of passage program for African American youth, and heads the Outward Bound Program for the Simba Circle. Also in 1993, Dodley became a consultant for the Columbus Public Schools. From 2004 to 2011, he held the position of drug prevention coordinator for the Columbus Health Department. Dodley serves as a licensed counselor for the Federal TRIO Programs’ Upward Bound Program and a senior consultant for the Harambee Leadership Academy, Inc. He has over twenty years’ experience in criminal justice, children’s services, violence prevention, therapeutic intervention and drug prevention. With his expertise, Dodley is a sought-after speaker around the country including presenting at the Ohio Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel OAEOPP Student Leadership and Professional Conference and the S.A.V.E. (Stand Against a Violent Environment) Rapid City Youth Conference.

Dodley has been recognized for his commitment to youth issues and violence prevention including receiving the Community Against Violence and Abuse Award in 2005. He also has been recognized by the Columbus Urban League. Dodley was a member of the Raising the African-American Potential (RAAP) Leadership Committee in 2006. He has four adult children, Lewis, Traci, Mark and Kimberly.

Lewis E. Dodley was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 6, 2012.

Accession Number

A2012.103

Sex

Male

Interview Date

4/6/2012

Last Name

Dodley

Maker Category

CivicMakers

EducationMakers

Marital Status

Divorced

Middle Name

Occupation

Motivational Speaker

Youth Advocate

Organizations

SIMBA Circle (Safe in My Brothers Arms)

Youth to Youth International

Columbus Public Schools

Schools

The Ohio State University

Otterbein University

East High School

Douglas Alternative Elementary School

Champion Avenue School

First Name

Lewis

Birth City, State, Country

Columbus

HM ID

DOD04

Favorite Season

Spring

State

Ohio

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2012.103

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/630610

Favorite Vacation Destination

Anywhere Near Water

Favorite Quote

It Is Better To Build Children Than Fix Adults. A Warrior Doesn't Build A Shield On The Battlefield.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Ohio

Interview Description

A2012_103_EAD.pdf

A2012_103_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

12/25/1940

Birth Place Term

Columbus

Speakers Bureau Region City

Columbus

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Seafood

Short Description

Motivational speaker and youth advocate Lewis E. Dodley (1940 - ) was an expert on youth violence and drug prevention. He founded the SIMBA Circle, an Afrocentric rites of passage program for young African American men.

Employment

Columbus Health Department

HARAMBEE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, INC.

Department of Youth Services, State of Ohio

Rosemont Family Center

Salesian Boys Club

Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority

Favorite Color

Pink, Purple

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/630615

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630578">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Lewis E. Dodley's interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630579">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley lists his favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630580">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley describes his mother's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630581">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the Flytown section of Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630582">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his mother's upbringing</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630583">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley describes his father's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630584">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his father's upbringing</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630585">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his father's employment</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630586">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley describes how his parents met</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630587">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers his father's return from World War II</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630588">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley lists his siblings</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630589">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers a childhood friend</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630590">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630591">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers the black businesses in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630592">Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his childhood activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630593">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers Douglas Elementary School in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630594">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his family members' alcoholism</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630595">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers his activities at East High School in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630596">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley recalls his recruitment to Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630597">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the schools near Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630598">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers marrying his first wife</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630599">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his relationship with his first wife</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630600">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his work experiences after leaving Otterbein College</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630601">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers enrolling at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630602">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630603">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the black male leaders in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630604">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the black female leaders in Columbus, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630605">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his influences at The Ohio State University</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630606">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about joining an all-white fraternity at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630607">Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his research for his master's degree</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630608">Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers working with Youth to Youth International</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630609">Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about youth drug prevention programs</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630610">Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers working at the Ohio Department of Youth Services</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630611">Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about developing rites of passage for black youth</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630612">Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the Afrocentric movement</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630613">Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley remembers the influential black psychologists</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630614">Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley describes his rites of passage program</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630615">Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the rituals in his rites of passage program</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630616">Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the SIMBA Circle summer camp</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630617">Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley describes the SIMBA Circle's crossover ceremony</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630618">Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the mask making ceremony at SIMBA Circle</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630619">Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley describes the final ceremony at SIMBA Circle</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630620">Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley describes the teaching philosophy of SIMBA Circle</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630621">Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his rites of passage program for former prison inmates</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630622">Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the value of Afrocentric principles</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630623">Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley reflects upon his legacy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630624">Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Lewis E. Dodley reflects upon his life</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630625">Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the Safe in My Sister's Arms Circle (SISMA Circle)</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630626">Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about the funding for the SIMBA Circle</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630627">Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about working with youth from different cities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630628">Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Lewis E. Dodley describes his family</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630629">Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Lewis E. Dodley talks about his grandchildren</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630630">Tape: 7 Story: 9 - Lewis E. Dodley describes his love of fishing</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630631">Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Lewis E. Dodley describes how he would like to be remembered</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/630632">Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Lewis E. Dodley narrates his photographs</a>

DASession

1$1

DATape

5$6

DAStory

3$1

DATitle

Lewis E. Dodley remembers working at the Ohio Department of Youth Services

Lewis E. Dodley talks about the rituals in his rites of passage program

Transcript

Let me go back a little bit to 1981 when you got your Ph.D., now did you, did you immediately go after a different job? Or did you get hi- did you get offers for any other jobs?$$I had a couple of offers. But I stayed with the Department of Youth Services [Ohio Department of Youth Services] for a while, because I wanted to, for one thing, to pay back the money, in order to not be bogged down with loans. They have what they call the Juvenile Justice Act [Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974], or the law enforcement act, LEAA [Law Enforcement Assistance Administration]. And whereas if you worked at an agency that paid your tuition, you'd pay it back by working there. This is why I liked that idea a lot. It keeps you in your field, you know. Yeah, so that was 1981. Okay, I became interested in--I got so tired of seeing our kids die. I met a young man from, he used to be a pastor at this church. Harvard Stephens [Harvard Stephens, Jr.] was his name. He had a program called Young Men with a Future, and he saw me working with kids at the detention center during the time I had my doctorate. I joined groups on Saturdays at the DH [ph.]. He said, "How about coming to my church and work with a group of boys on rites of passage programming?" I said, "Sure." So after that it branched off, and I met with people in Chicago [Illinois] through the Evangelical Lutheran [Evangelical Lutheran Church in America] headquarters on Higgins [Road].$$About what year is this?$$Ninety [1990].$$Nineteen ninety [1990]?$$Ninety-one [1991].$$Ninety-one [1991], okay.$$Yeah, because we started our first camp in '93 [1993].$$Now explain, what is the rites of passage program, and how do these programs get started? Were you aware of these in the past?$$Yeah. Dr. Kelsey [Moriba Kelsey] had always said that he feels like the biggest problem our kids have is not knowing what a real man is, or what a real woman is. And how you get that, every culture has a rites of passage program, but it had to be retrieved. And rites of passage, of course, are those events that you go through physically, emotionally, and psychologically to make you, quote, a responsible person. And those steps sometimes get lost. And I think I have to remind kids sometimes--they know what a bar mitzvah is, but they don't equate it with what they're going through, okay. So, rites of passage are those agreed upon activities and events you have to have in order to maintain who you really are. You've got to know who you are. If you don't know who you are, you set yourself up for abuse. Because people will say anything about you, but when you know who you really are, then you don't have to worry about hating somebody else, because you know who you really are. Plus, it's just fascinating when kids understand. For example, little facts like pyramids. They still--I mean they don't--when I say, "Somebody built a pyramid that looked just like you," you know, and there's some questions. I said, "Have you ever seen a brick of a pyramid, guys? One is big as this room."$Okay.$$Oh.$$You were walking us through (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Yeah. And when they throw their pain in that fire, I'd tell them, "Look up, look at the stars. And write your name in the stars, connect the dots. And all the rest of the stars are ancestors, someone who died so that you could go on." And I remind them, "Your ancestors didn't bring you this far to let you down." Now, and I also tie that into another--it's about rituals, learning about rituals, and why we have rituals. We explained to them, why do we do libations or tambiko? Not to be just to be doing it, not worshipping. You're remembering. So for anybody who thinks that it's sacrilegious, it's not that we are worshipping. We're remembering, and honoring and understanding that there are people who came before us that allowed us to even be on this campus that we're all on here today, this sort of thing. And when you stand, you stand--like if you're playing football and you're a wide receiver, you don't stand on one foot, because then you standing on the ancestors' shoulders--heads. And we don't want that, so you stand firmly, like this. And then you--we had them--if you've never done libations or tambiko--I know you have. But it's a real teaching moment for kids to remember their ancestry. Because we first start out by asking them to remember someone before slavery, and then, "Where is Timbuktu [Mali]? I thought that was in Texas." Then we teach like that. So we always ask them to think about someone before slavery, and were talking about the first doctors, Imhotep you know. Of course you know all of that, but I'm saying that kids don't know it, you know. They say, "Well, maybe it's a mummy." I say, "Well, to mummify a body, you have to be a physician." I said. And they still are amazed at how they preserve those bodies. That sort of thing. So, that piqued their interest. And the more people they call out, you know, the better we are. And some of them don't know. Then now, they want to know. And then we ask them to answer the Moth [ph.], not the Middle Passage, and explain what that means. We don't use that term anymore, because it's a great tragedy, and it's not like we were able to ride back home and stuff like that. Slavery was one way. And so, you get a chance while you're doing libation to teach at the same time. And even when you get to the part where you have the boys to call up their own personal ancestors, like that, I say, "Somebody who makes you smile," and you ought to see the smiles on their faces. And sometimes they explain who it is. You don't have to. And then we always ask them to pour a libation for an event or something in your life that's meaningful to you. For example substance abuse, teenage mothers, people born with AIDS [acquired immunodeficiency syndrome], and all kind of stuff like this. Bring their consciousness up about what's going on with us during the rites of passage ceremonies. And the whole curriculum [at SIMBA Circle], that's just the ten days. I mean we do this in ten days, and then we come back and expand on each one of those points in our school and afterschool programs. That's why we have the Urban Warriors [ph.]. We have boys now at a conference in Toledo [Ohio], I think that's where it's at. In fact, the guy who took them, is one of our nation builders, which is a rank in rites of passage. And the nation builders are the ones who work directly with the Warriors. I'm an elder, so the camp is designed, you got the elders--well, you got the watoto's [ph.], or the warriors, the kids that have the war spirit. Then they're surrounded by nation builders. And the nation builders are surrounded by the elders. And the elders are the ones who help, if we need to.$$Providing overall guidance for them?$$Right. We have a--and we always make the difference between an elder and an older, like that.

Read more about Lewis E. Dodley

Patricia Russell-McCloud

Motivational speaker Patricia Russell-McCloud was born on September 14, 1946, in Indianapolis, Indiana to Willie and Janiel Russell. The youngest of three daughters, Russell-McCloud delivered her first major speech at the age of eight, before the convention of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church convention in Los Angeles. In 1964, Russell-McCloud graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis and went on to receive her B.A. degree in history in 1968 from Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Kentucky. In 1970, she enrolled at the Howard University School of Law and received her J.D. degree in 1973.

In 1973, Russell-McCloud began working for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington D.C and by 1974, she was involved in a recommendation to the U.S. Department of Justice that eventually led to the Supreme Court case United States vs. AT&T , which broke up what was then the largest monopoly in the United States. Russell-McCloud received several promotions, eventually becoming the head of the Complaints Branch within the Broadcast Division of the FCC. In 1982, she met E. Earl McCloud, a minister and military science instructor at Alabama A&M University and they married in 1983. That same year, she left the FCC to begin her own motivational speaking business, Russell-McCloud Associates.

Over the past 27 years, Russell-McCloud has become one of the most sought-after motivational speakers in the nation. Her clients include McDonalds, the United States Navy, Coca-Cola, United Auto Workers and a host of other prominent companies. Black Enterprise Magazine named her the fifth best motivational speaker in 1998. From 1994 to 1998, Russell-McCloud served as president of the Links, Inc. Her book, A is for Attitude: An Alphabet for Living was published in 1999, and she has released an audio CD of her speeches entitled Never Give Up and a separate recording of her speech The Power of Connecting . Russell-McCloud has received numerous honors, including the keys to more than 300 cities.

Accession Number

A2011.028

Sex

Female

Interview Date

4/20/2011

Last Name

Russell-McCloud

Maker Category

LawMakers

Marital Status

Married

Occupation

Motivational Speaker

Lawyer

Organizations

National Speakers Association

Links, Inc.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

National Urban League (NUL)

African Methodist Episcopal Church

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated

Schools

Shortridge High School

Kentucky State University

Family Development Services

Howard University School of Law

Howard University

First Name

Patricia

Birth City, State, Country

Indianapolis

HM ID

RUS08

Favorite Season

Spring

State

Indiana

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2011.028

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/624103

Favorite Vacation Destination

Africa

Favorite Quote

Whatever You're Going Through It's A Temporary Inconvenience For A Permanent Improvement.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Georgia

Interview Description

A2011_028_EAD.pdf

A2011_028_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

9/14/1946

Birth Place Term

Indianapolis

Speakers Bureau Region City

Atlanta

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Salad

Short Description

Motivational speaker and lawyer Patricia Russell-McCloud (1946 - ) was a Federal Communications Commission attorney, the president of The Links, Inc. and a motivational speaker.

Employment

Russell-McCloud Associates

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Indianapolis Public Schools System

Detroit Public Schools System

Favorite Color

Purple

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/624126

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624083">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Patricia Russell-McCloud's interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624084">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Patricia Russell-McCloud lists her favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624085">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her father's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624086">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her father's personality</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624087">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her mother's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624088">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Patricia Russell-McCloud lists her siblings</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624089">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes the Haughville neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624090">Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her earliest childhood memory</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624091">Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624092">Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers the Woodrow Wilson School No. 75 in Indianapolis, Indiana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624093">Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her social activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624094">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers speaking at a national meeting of the A.M.E. Zion church, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624095">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her early influences</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624096">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers speaking at a national meeting of the A.M.E. Zion church, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624097">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624098">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about segregation in Indianapolis, Indiana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624099">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes the music of her childhood, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624100">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about Revered Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624101">Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes the music of her childhood, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624102">Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her experiences at Short Ridge High School in Indianapolis, Indiana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624103">Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her decision to attend Kentucky State College in Frankfort, Kentucky</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624104">Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers joining the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624105">Tape: 2 Story: 12 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her academic experiences at Kentucky State College</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624106">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority's service activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624107">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her decision to attend the Howard University School of Law</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624108">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624109">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her time at the Howard University School of Law</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624110">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers her peers and professors at Howard University</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624111">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls joining the Federal Communications Commission</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624112">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her work at the Federal Communications Commission</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624113">Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her role as the chief of complaints at the Federal Communications Commission</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624114">Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers organizing a conference of black-owned broadcast networks</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624115">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers her retirement from the Federal Communications Commission</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624116">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her membership in The Links</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624117">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls the history of The Links, Incorporated</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624118">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Patricia Russell-McCloud reflects upon her legacy at The Links, Incorporated</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624119">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes programs during her presidency of The Links, Incorporated</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624120">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about meeting Elizabeth Catlett</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624121">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her changes to The Links' policies</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624122">Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her husband</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624123">Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her decision to become a motivational speaker</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624124">Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her start as a motivational speaker</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624125">Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her mentorship program</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624126">Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers writing 'A Is for Attitude: An Alphabet for Living'</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624127">Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her stage play, 'Keep Rising'</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624128">Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Patricia Russell-McCloud describes her philanthropic activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624129">Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her inspirational CD, 'Never Give Up'</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624130">Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her role as a bishop's wife</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624131">Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her favorite motivational speakers</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624132">Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Patricia Russell-McCloud talks about her awards</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624133">Tape: 5 Story: 10 - Patricia Russell-McCloud reflects upon her life</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624134">Tape: 5 Story: 11 - Patricia Russell-McCloud shares a message to future generations</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624135">Tape: 5 Story: 12 - Patricia Russell-McCloud reflects upon her legacy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/624136">Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Patricia Russell-McCloud narrates her photographs.</a>

DASession

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DAStory

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DATitle

Patricia Russell-McCloud recalls her decision to attend Kentucky State College in Frankfort, Kentucky

Patricia Russell-McCloud remembers writing 'A Is for Attitude: An Alphabet for Living'

Transcript

So how do you begin to prepare for college? You think you may want to be an attorney, but you're not sure. How do you begin to prepare to go to college? Who's there to help you?$$My godmother went to Kentucky State [Kentucky State College; Kentucky State University, Frankfort, Kentucky], and she was very hopeful that I would be willing to be interviewed by the recruiter when he came. She was telling him that I was a speaker, that I was smart and that I could sing, and that I could be on any or all of those scholarships and it would be a wonderful experience. So I listened and I met the recruiter when he came, among other recruiters who came to my school [Shortridge High School, Indianapolis, Indiana], but I met him. But he told me about a man named Dr. Henry E. Cheaney and that he was a history and political science professor at Kentucky State. So I did all this research on Dr. Henry E. Cheaney. Excuse me. He was renowned. And I said, "Oh, I have to study under him, I just have to go there." And the choir, the concert choir of Kentucky State, was traveling all over and, including New York, inclu- I mean everywhere. And they were under a master director. And many of those people in that choir have gone on to be in operas and all that. So then I said, "Oh, I want to be in that choir." And, so then I looked at some of the other professors. One of the top speech and drama persons, Dr. Winona Lee Fletcher, was at Kentucky State. And when I went to their campus, I loved it. Rolling hills, buildings that were welcoming, attitudes and behaviors that were embracing. I'd never been around that many black people who were educated and had a mind to encourage me to be my best and to achieve against the odds and all that. And it wasn't so far from Indianapolis [Indiana] that if, if anything else, you could catch a bus and go home. So I selected Kentucky State.$You also are an author?$$Yes, yes (simultaneous).$$(Simultaneous) Tell me about your book.$$I--one day I received a call from a literary agent and she asked me had I ever considered writing. I said, "I consider it all the time, but I just haven't had time." And she said, I said, "The only thing I can think of offhand--." She was thinking a compilation of speeches would be a book. And I said, "I'm sure that's true, but I don't have time to put all that together." I said, "One thing they love, they, my audiences, they love this thing I wrote called the alphabet." She said, "What is it?" I said, "It's A to Z, and it is the walk away." Even at, even when I'm with corporations, they said, "Will you do the alphabet?" I said, "The alphabet is not in this speech." They said, "But would you just do it?" I said, "You're the client, of course I'll do it." And every letter is a word of empowerment, attitude, brain power, courage, dedication, preparation, now, all of that. And it just goes (makes sound) like that. It goes very quickly, and people just cannot believe that I'm going through the whole alphabet in a new form and way. So she said, "I believe that every chapter is a letter." And I said, "Really?" Attitude, brain power, courage. So she said, "Write me an outline of three chapters. Write me an outline of your book and then write me three chapters and then I'll shop it." And she did, and the book became bestselling. And she said, she called me one day and she said, "I don't want to blow your mind." And I said, "Okay, what happened?" Like I said, I had dismissed it, you know, what's this? She said, "We shopped it to five houses, publishing houses in New York [New York], and--," I'm sorry, "--we shopped it to seven, and five bought the book. Five bid the book."$$Tell me the name of the book again.$$'A Is for Attitude: An Alphabet for Living' [Patricia Russell-McCloud].$$And what year was it published?$$Ninety-nine [1999].$$Ninety-nine [1999]$$And that--then it was re-launched last month, because it was bestselling. And then they changed the cover, the forward, and the acknowledgements.$$Who wrote the forward?$$Margot James Copeland [HistoryMaker Margot Copeland], the national president of The Links [The Links, Incorporated].

Read more about Patricia Russell-McCloud

Mona Lake Jones

Poet and educator Mona Lake Jones (known to many as “Grandhoney”) was born on August 30, 1939 in Mason City, now Grand Coulee, Washington. The daughter of Pauline Sims Lake and Sylvester James Lake, Jones grew up in Spokane, Washington where she attended McKinley Elementary School, Libby Junior High School and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1957. There, she was a drum majorette who enjoyed music and poetry. Attending Washington State University on a music scholarship, Jones was the only black woman on campus for an entire semester. She graduated with her B.S. degree in education in 1961. Jones later attended the University of Washington and earned her Ed.D. degree in education from Seattle University in 1991.

Moving to Seattle, Washington, Jones taught in Seattle Public Schools, area colleges and was a leader in Mt. Zion Baptist Church’s Ethnic School, a Saturday school to unite children around common themes of heritage, assertiveness and academics. Jones has served as president of the Washington State Community College Black Educators, as National Vice-President of the Council of Black American Affairs and was president of the Black Child Development Institute from 1995 to 1997. She was also Director of Public Relations for Seattle Community Colleges.

Jones’ first poem was published in Essence magazine in 1990 and that led her to write The Color of Culture, now in its seventh printing, and two sequels, The Color of Culture II and The Color of Culture III. She also authored Unleashing the Power of a Sister. Her 1992 poem, “A Roomful of Sisters” was commissioned by 100 Black Women of Boston, a national civic group, and exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The poem inspired a painting by Paul Goodnight, a number of conferences and a yearly New York meeting called ARFOS. Jones has served as a poet curator and a poet laureate for the City of Seattle and King County. She is a full-time poet and motivational speaker, spending much of her time on the road, speaking at colleges, conventions and to civic groups about issues of culture and diversity. Jones has appeared on programs with Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, Susan Taylor, Maxine Waters, Shirley Chisholm, Myrlie Evers-Williams and Randall Robinson. Jones also composed the lyrics for Vanessa Williams’ musical recording of “Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly”. Jones has received numerous awards, including the Blackbird Literary Award and the Langston Hughes Award.

Jones is married to publisher, Joe Jones, has two grown children and three grandchildren.

Jones was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 28, 2007.

Accession Number

A2007.310

Sex

Female

Interview Date

6/5/2008

10/28/2007

10/7/2017

Last Name

Jones

Maker Category

EducationMakers

ArtMakers

Middle Name

Lake

Occupation

Poet

Education Administrator

Motivational Speaker

Organizations

Mt. Zion Ethnic School

Black Child Development Institute

Links

Schools

Clarke High School

McKinley Elementary School

Libby Junior High School

Lewis & Clark High School

Washington State University

University of Washington

Seattle University

Search Occupation Category

ArtMakers:Authors

First Name

Mona

Birth City, State, Country

Mason City

HM ID

JON19

Favorite Season

Summer

State

Washington

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2007.310

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/629088

Favorite Vacation Destination

Caribbean

Favorite Quote

Kindness is magnetic. It draws out the best in others.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Washington

Interview Description

A2007_310_EAD.pdf

A2007_310_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

8/30/1939

Birth Place Term

Mason City

Speakers Bureau Region City

Seattle

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Chicken, Dumplings

Short Description

Poet, education administrator, and motivational speaker Mona Lake Jones (1939 - ) served as president of the Washington State Community College Black Educators and was president of the Black Child Development Institute from 1995 to 1997. She served as poet curator of Seattle and poet laureate of King County.

Employment

Harrison School

Seattle Community Colleges

Favorite Color

Purple

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/629092

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629059">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Mona Lake Jones' interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629060">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones lists her favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629061">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones describes her mother's family background, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629062">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones describes her mother's family background, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629063">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones describes her mother's upbringing</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629064">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones describes her father's family background and education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629065">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones describes her parents' relationship</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629066">Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Mona Lake Jones describes her father's career</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629067">Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Mona Lake Jones describes her father's personality and her likeness to him</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629068">Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her neighborhood in Spokane, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629069">Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Mona Lake Jones describes her earliest childhood memory</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629070">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her early awareness of race</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629071">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629072">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones remembers her drama lessons</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629073">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her early activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629074">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones describes her early experiences of racial discrimination</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629075">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones remembers the Orbit Club in Spokane, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629076">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones recalls Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629077">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her social life at the State College of Washington in Pullman, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629078">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes her experiences at the State College of Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629079">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones remembers her professors at the State College of Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629080">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones reflects upon her experiences of discrimination, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629081">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones reflects upon her experiences of discrimination, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629082">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her early teaching career in Seattle, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629083">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones remembers learning about African American history</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629084">Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her graduate education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629085">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones describes the Mt. Zion Ethnic School in Seattle, Washington, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629086">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes the Mt. Zion Ethnic School in Seattle, Washington, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629087">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones recalls working with the Black Child Development Institute</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629088">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones describes her organizational involvement</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629089">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones remembers her doctoral dissertation</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629090">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her parenting philosophy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629091">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones describes her early poetry</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629092">Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones describes the inspiration for her poetry</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629093">Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes her concerns for the African American community</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629094">Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones reflects upon her life</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629095">Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones describes her family</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629096">Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones reflects upon her legacy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629097">Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones describes how she would like to be remembered</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629098">Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones narrates her photographs, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629099">Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Mona Lake Jones narrates her photographs, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/629100">Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones narrates her photographs, video and transcript</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671714">Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Slating of Mona Lake Jones' interview, session 3</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671715">Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes her role in public relations for Seattle Community Colleges in Seattle, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671716">Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones recalls her work in teacher education at Pacific Oaks College - Northwest in Seattle, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671717">Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones talks about the renaming of King County in the State of Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671718">Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones describes her philosophy on education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671719">Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her work with the YWCA in Seattle, Washington</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671720">Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones talks about the mandate of the YWCA</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671721">Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Mona Lake Jones describes her weekly meetings with other African American senior citizens</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671722">Tape: 7 Story: 9 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her book, 'Nectar from Grandhoney,' pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671723">Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Mona Lake Jones talks about the 2008 presidential election</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671724">Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Mona Lake Jones describes her work with senior citizens</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671725">Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her book, 'Nectar from Grandhoney,' pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671726">Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her recent book projects</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671727">Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Mona Lake Jones reflects upon her life and legacy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671728">Tape: 8 Story: 6 - Mona Lake Jones describes her hopes and concerns for the African American community</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671729">Tape: 8 Story: 7 - Mona Lake Jones talks about her racial identity</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/671730">Tape: 8 Story: 8 - Mona Lake Jones describes how she would like to be remembered</a>

DASession

1$1

DATape

4$5

DAStory

4$1

DATitle

Mona Lake Jones describes her organizational involvement

Mona Lake Jones describes the inspiration for her poetry

Transcript

Even as I am moved into the Seattle Links chapter [The Links, Incorporated], I chaired the services to youth portion, and I recognized that our kids weren't passing the SATs, and I thought, why aren't they passing the SATs? They're bright. Why, why are they finding that so difficult? So I got some black men and they were the black engineers in Seattle [Washington], and set up a Saturday series. Come in and learn how to take the SAT exam. So I did that for, I don't know, five, six, seven, eight years, helped kids pass that SAT. And I went out and found volunteers who would come in and do that, particularly, with the math I wanted to have some black males there. So I went to the black engineers' organization and they would come in and teach the math portion. And then I just had some teacher friend women who taught English and so forth, and they'd come in and do the language part. And we did that on Saturdays to help kids pass that exam. Some of my kids, my, my children, my very own children, their friends couldn't get their scholarships to college, to play ball or whatever it was they were about because they couldn't pass that SAT exam. And I thought, now, that is really a tragedy that an exam like this is keeping them from being a recipient of a scholarship. So every time I found a kind of an area of need, I've kind of wedged myself in there in some sort of way and tried to give back by using my either influence or my skill or my talent. And it's mostly been directed at, at black youth. My husband is the same way. He has always helped me or started his own endeavor to kind of--so, so that's been our focus. I, I think we realized we've been fortunate, and we wanna share that and one of the ways we know we can do it is with young people. So we found ways to--I know my kids were, my very own children [Brent Jones and Dana Jones Walker], again, were--we were trying to find something to do one Saturday and looked in the newspaper, and there was a track meet going on, all-city track meet. So I said, "Oh, let's go look." So we got in the car and we went to the track meet, and it just so happened, it was an open meet that day, and kids could run. You didn't have to be in a club. So mine got out there and ran and they dusted everybody. And it was like, they didn't even have the right stuff on or anything, and they came over and said, "Who, who's their coach? Who, who did they run for?" Well, we weren't running for anybody. And so, so my husband said--there were some kids who wanted to run, and he bought 'em track outfits and, you know, and organized them, the South Central Athletic Association. And my kids ran their way right on through the university. I mean they got scholarships on track and, and my daughter set a, a national record in the 4 x 100, you know, relay, and I--you know, and that just, was happenstance. So, so when, when Joe [Joe Jones] started the South Central Athletic Association, me, as an educator, thought, okay, this is an opportunity for kids to learn too. So you had to come into the portable and read for an hour before you could go out and run on the track. So I got a couple of other friends, and we brought library books and we'd read--I said, let's make this a, you know, read and run kind of deal. And so it just, you know, it's just finding ways to, to nurture our kids, and that's kind of what I've been about, really been my thrust in life.$$Now, what year is the South Central Athletic Association in?$$It's still in existence, and it must have started in--let's see. My kids graduated, in the '90s [1990s], in the early '90s [1990s].$$Okay.$$And it's still in existence today.$$Okay, and just for the record here, your husband was a, he was a fair athlete at--$$Right, uh-huh.$$--University of Washington [Seattle, Washington].$$Right, he's always been an athlete.$$Played in the Rose Bowl [Rose Bowl Game] and was (laughter)--$$Uh-huh, so--$$So, I mean they'd had a decent coach. He actually knew--$$Yeah.$$--what he was doing.$$Exactly. And then, and then we found out that kids--he went up to ski one day, and there were no blacks up there skiing. And he said, oh, we gotta get our kids to skiing up here on this mountain. This is too much fun. And he started the Four Seasons Northwest ski club, and you can talk to most any of the kids in the city who know how to ski, they learned through Joe's ski school. So it, it's just been one, you know, athletics, education, wherever we can see that we might have an impact. And I am so proud. I think I am proudest about my ability to have touched the lives of so many children than I am about anything, and, and being a parent. I, I love what I did as a parent with my own children.$Okay, now, do you have a thematic source for most of your poems? I mean what are your, what's your--is your theme mostly family or what?$$I don't know that it's mostly family. It's just appreciating life, just as positive as I can get about life in general. That one poem I have 'Life is Sweet' [Mona Lake Jones], "It's like a dish of warm, berry pie with fresh cream melting on the top, tasting so good you have to tell yourself to stop. Woo, life is so sweet." And it goes on about the sweetness of life. That, that's kind of what I, I write about. So much of what I write about is positive, but it tells the story of being colored black in America, you know, all kinds of situations and so there are some trials and tribulations, of course, 'cause that's a part of who we are. But I really try to look at the positive side of our culture and just really appreciate who we are. I always say, "When you're feeling a little uncomfortable, when you're feeling down, and when you're feeling alone, reach back and get you some culture." And I tell people, you know, just wallow in your culture. It makes you feel good. And don't ever let anybody tell you, you're culturally deprived. One day somebody said that, and I was surprised at them.$$Well, so many people don't know about it or don't use it, you know, or like we said before, assume they know all it is to know about it because they are black. It's nothing they have to read or (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Um-hm, but I--$$--no new people they have to associate it with, but--$$Right, but when I celebrate that, oh, it makes people happy. I mean when I talk about our blackness and how wonderful it is and all the, the kinds of things that, that tell who we are, people get excited about it. They clap, they laugh, they find value in it, they find association with it. So that when I talk to groups and I'm celebrating African American culture, they really find joy in that. There's this one piece that I wrote about brothers. And it talks about how wonderful black men are 'cause, you know, very often, the only time they're celebrated is if, they're athletes and, you know, superstars, and very often that which is in the newspapers is negative and positi- you know, about what they're, they've done that's not good. And so I wrote a piece just to celebrate them. And I'm telling you, every time I do that in an audience, men come up and they hug me and they thank me, and, you know, it's this, like--and I went to the barbershop 'cause it was round about, "One morning I went to the barbershop, and it was round about ten o'clock. And I just happened to walk by, and I looked in, and there were brothers of all ages sitting, waiting in line, each one of them I would describe as fine. I don't mean fine 'cause they were short, tall or thin. I mean these were just genuinely handsome, black men, that love and strength that showed in their eyes, and you knew for some years of living had made them wise," ['Brothers,' Mona Lake Jones]. And it goes on about, you know, the brothers in the barbershop, just positive things. And the same way with that 'Sisters' piece ['A Room Full of Sisters,' Mona Lake Jones]. And then I acknowledge the fact that we have had, you know, many issues in our lives as, as blacks, as African Americans. And we've overcome them, and we continually do so. And there's always hope, and there's always the positive. And if we keep those positive things about who we are in our heads and have pictures of them, then it helps us be kind of better human beings.

Read more about Mona Lake Jones

Donna Satchell

Donna Satchell was born on December 20, 1951 in Brooklyn, New York to Jennie and J.C Horton. The family moved to Mount Vernon, New York where she attended public school. After high school, Satchell worked for over ten years in various administrative positions for Booz Allen Hamilton, the American Stock Exchange, and Mutual of New York.

Satchell’s career began with the Bristol Myers Squibb Company-Clairol Division in 1984. While working at Bristol Myers, Satchell was promoted from administrative assistant to category development manager in 1998. She also attended Mercy College at night to receive her B.S. degree in business administration in 1989.

Her twenty-plus years of corporate experience combined with her desire to help firms develop their employees helped her build a business based on her professional and personal business ethics and experiences. In 2001, Satchell founded STARR Consulting and Training. Her workforce training programs focus on customer service, team work, time management, principles for workplace success, and public speaking. Her clients include the Coca-Cola Company, The City Atlanta, Cox Communications, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Internal Revenue Service.

The Lessons Learned in Corporate America and How to Make the Most of Your 9 to 5 are just two popular titles among her DVD lecture series. Satchell is also the co-author of The Power of Motivation and a five-part series entitled 303 Solutions. She is one of the co-founders of Women Aspiring Together to Succeed and a member of the National Speakers Association, Les Brown Speakers Network, and the American Society for Training and Development.

Satchell currently resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Accession Number

A2007.014

Sex

Female

Interview Date

1/18/2007

Last Name

Satchell-Kimbell

Maker Category

MediaMakers

Occupation

Business Consultant

Motivational Speaker

Organizations

National Speakers Association

Schools

Mount Vernon High School

Washington Junior High School

Robert Fulton Public School

Westchester Community College

Mercy College

First Name

Donna

Birth City, State, Country

New York

HM ID

SAT02

Favorite Season

All Seasons

State

New York

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2007.014

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/394738

Favorite Vacation Destination

Jamaica

Favorite Quote

It Is Never Too Late To Be All That You Can Be.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

Georgia

Interview Description

A2007_014_EAD.pdf

A2007_014_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

12/20/1951

Birth Place Term

New York

Speakers Bureau Region City

Atlanta

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Macaroni And Cheese

Short Description

Business consultant and motivational speaker Donna Satchell (1951 - ) founded STARR Consulting and Training, a workforce training program.

Employment

Clairol, Inc.

Booz Allen Hamilton

New York Mutual Life Insurance Company

American Stock Exchange

Favorite Color

Red

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/394722

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394704">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Donna Satchell's interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394705">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Donna Satchell lists her favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394706">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Donna Satchell describes her maternal grandmother</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394707">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Donna Satchell describes her maternal grandfather</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394708">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Donna Satchell remembers her father</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394709">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Donna Satchell talks about her paternal aunt</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394710">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Donna Satchell describes her mother</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394711">Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Donna Satchell talks about her mother's relationships</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394712">Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Donna Satchell describes her earliest childhood memories</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394713">Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Donna Satchell recalls playing games with her sister</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394714">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Donna Satchell remembers Washington Junior High School in Mount Vernon, New York</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394715">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Donna Satchell describes her extracurricular activities</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394716">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Donna Satchell remembers the Mount Vernon High School Annex in Mount Vernon, New York</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394717">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Donna Satchell recalls President John Fitzgerald Kennedy's assassination</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394718">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Donna Satchell remembers Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, New York</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394719">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Donna Satchell describes her mother's opinion of activism</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394720">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Donna Satchell recalls Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394721">Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Donna Satchell remembers her early work experiences</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394722">Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Donna Satchell recalls her modeling school experiences in New York City</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394723">Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Donna Satchell recalls her work at the American Stock Exchange in New York City</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394724">Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Donna Satchell describes her professional ambitions</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394725">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Donna Satchell remembers her decision to attend college</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394726">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Donna Satchell remembers leaving Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394727">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Donna Satchell remembers Westchester Community College in Valhalla, New York</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394728">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Donna Satchell recalls being hired at Clairol, Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394729">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Donna Satchell describes her career at Clairol, Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394730">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Donna Satchell recalls the support of her education at Clairol, Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394731">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Donna Satchell recalls meeting the president of U.S. operations at Clairol, Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394732">Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Donna Satchell recalls her promotion to marketing at Clairol, Inc., pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394733">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Donna Satchell recalls her promotion to marketing at Clairol, Inc., pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394734">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Donna Satchell recalls joining the sales office of Clairol, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394735">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Donna Satchell recalls her business, Cultural Art Works, in Atlanta, Georgia</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394736">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Donna Satchell recalls founding Women Aspiring Together To Succeed</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394737">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Donna Satchell recalls her decision to leave Clairol, Inc.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394738">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Donna Satchell remembers founding her business, Success Can Be Yours, LLC</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394739">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Donna Satchell recalls her work in change management for the City of Atlanta</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394740">Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Donna Satchell describes her work with Les Brown</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394741">Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Donna Satchell talks about her writing projects</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394742">Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Donna Satchell describes her motivational speaking engagements</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394743">Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Donna Satchell talks about Dennis Paul Kimbro</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394744">Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Donna Satchell reflects upon her life</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394745">Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Donna Satchell shares a message for future generations</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394746">Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Donna Satchell describes how she would like to be remembered</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394747">Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Donna Satchell reflects upon her legacy, pt. 1</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394748">Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Donna Satchell reflects upon her legacy, pt. 2</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/394749">Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Donna Satchell narrates her photographs</a>

DASession

1$1

DATape

4$2

DAStory

6$9

DATitle

Donna Satchell remembers founding her business, Success Can Be Yours, LLC

Donna Satchell recalls her modeling school experiences in New York City

Transcript

And so how does your business work?$$Well it started and it's, it's funny because when I started I truly had no idea what I was doing.$$What's the name of the company?$$Right now it's Starr Consulting and Training [Stone Mountain, Georgia], S-T-A-R-R, Consulting and Training, but it didn't even start as Starr Consulting and Training, it started under the name of Success Can Be Yours [Success Can Be Yours, LLC, Stone Mountain, Georgia]. That was the first name, Success Can Be Yours, everyone can be a success. And I was talking about workplace success, but I was just looking at being a motivational speaker, I didn't even know anything about training, I knew so little it's amazing. But I joined the National Speakers Association, learned some things about speaking, joined--then I--a turn, a kind of like turning point was I became associated with [HistoryMaker] Les Brown, motivational trainer, a motivational speaker, a friend ran into him at the airport, the Atlanta airport [Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Atlanta, Georgia], she didn't live in Atlanta [Georgia]. And she told him about me and she was telling him how I was passionate about what I did, her name is Stephanie Townsend [ph.]. She, she called me one day--no one day I come home, you have to realize I don't know what I'm doing with my business. And I, I pick up the phone and there is this message on there, it's like, "Yes, Donna [HistoryMaker Donna Satchell], success can be yours 'cause you have--." And the voice is going on and on and on I'm trying to think who is this, I'm thinking I know who this sounds like but it wouldn't be that person because that person doesn't know me and it wouldn't make any sense for that person to call me, well it actually it ended up being Les Brown. He had run into my girlfriend Stephanie at the airport, she told him about me 'cause she said, "I know, nobody else who's as passionate about what they're doing, and they don't know what they're doing, they're not making any money." She said, "I don't know anybody else who every time I call you're excited, you don't know what you're doing, you're telling me you're not making any money, but you're excited," so she told about me. He called me and then I had a conversation with him and he had, he was starting a speakers program. So I took my hard earned money and after arguing with him for hours on the phone, I packed up everything I had on my business and sent it to him. With what, with what I thought was a huge check that was like you be out of your mind to pay this amount of money, but I sent it to him. And in the meantime I was starting to do some training and I had, I had joined Fred Pryor [Fred Pryor Seminars], their national training company, I'd done some training for them. And that's contractual work, so you do it for a couple of months and then I found that the traveling was just wearing me down I wasn't sure if they were paying enough. And that wasn't working, so you're, you're in this business but you don't--it's really kind of strange, you don't know what you're doing. You're doing this, this is working, you're get paid you know, not getting paid a lot over here, getting paid a little bit over here. You know, you, in your mind, you never thought you'd have a business but slowly some things are coming together but coming together real slow but you know you love to do this. So through the Les Brown training program, this is like you're talking about a slight turning 'cause I'm still trying to figure out my business, he, he had somebody on the--we were having a conference call, he had someone on the phone who was fulfilling a training contact for the City of Atlanta. And her name was Pam Evans [ph.] and she was trying to bring on trainers to work for I guess a couple of months for the City of Atlanta. So I met with her and she accepted me as one of the trainers, and I was doing change management training for the City of Atlanta. Then I found out, I really love training.$One of the things that happened when I was in, at Mutual of New York [Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York; The MONY Group, Inc., New York, New York], after I had graduated from high school [Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, New York] was I wanted t- I got involved with taking different kind of classes. I remember taking, I, I was reading the paper and they had a school, it was Robert Powers or something school for [John Robert Powers School, New York, New York]--I'm not even sure how--it wasn't really a modeling school, but it was more on culture, or--the term escapes me right now. But I remember taking classes there for about a year and they taught you how, taught you how to walk and talk and maybe it was kind of like a modeling school. So I took classes there, then like a year later I took classes with Oph- at Ophelia DeVore modeling school [Ophelia DeVore School of Self-Development and Modeling, New York, New York] 'cause I thought--there was part of me that was thinking about being a model, or wanted to pursue modeling. And I loved learning, I loved learning about how to put on makeup. I loved learning--also a lot of modeling is how to think better. And I guess I was looking to grow my, my self-esteem, in some ways, so I, oh I remember going to Ophelia DeVore modeling school, loved it, loved it.$$What did, what, what can you remember about that?$$There were different classes we were taking, one class is about makeup, classes about how to think better, classes about attitude. The graduation was held at this hotel and you had to--I actually made the dress that I end up wearing in the graduation. I'll never forget it was a very--I guess a political statement, it was a red, white and blue dress--no not red, white and blue, my goodness, red, black and green. One side it was red, the middle black and side was green and it was this, this gown I had made. And we had a graduation ceremony it was just, it was just a lot fun it was--I remembering learning so much and trying to, to, to stretch my mind to understand who I was as a person, or who I was as a woman. And I would still, still my greatest dream I guess in a way that I thought was achievable was to be a secretary. But I was taking all these other classes and doing all these other things. So it was a kind of conflict I guess one would have, one would say.

Read more about Donna Satchell

Grady Poulard

Nationally known motivational speaker and human relations consulting firm owner Grady Emory Poulard was born on August 15, 1936, to Leola Green Poulard and Grady Emory Poulard, Sr. in Crowley, Louisiana. Poulard grew up in Crowley and attended Ross High School, graduating in 1953. He attended Southern University, was elected student body president and served as the editor of the school’s newspaper. Poulard graduated from Southern University in 1957, and received a Rockefeller Fellowship, earning his M.A. degree from Yale University in philosophy and religion thereafter. Poulard also earned his M.A. degree in urban affairs at Columbia University, and is a graduate of the Pacific Institute Graduate Trainer Program.

After college, Poulard began working as an assistant to minister and civil rights activist Dr. Gardner Taylor and held the position of Director of Education at the Concord Church of Brooklyn, New York. He, then, served as an international field representative of the U.S. Student Christian Movement in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Between 1962 and 1964, Poulard served as dean of the Chapel at Christian Medical College in Vellore, South India. In 1965, Poulard became pastor of Peoples Congregational Church in Washington, D.C. He soon became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, as a field executive for the Council of Federated Civil Rights Organizations. This included the NAACP, SCLC, CORE, and SNCC.

In 1969, Poulard became a National Urban Fellow at Clairmont College and decided to go back to school and earn his M.A. degree in urban affairs from Columbia University. In 1970, while working at the American Institute of Architects, Poulard and Robert Nash developed the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). In 1972, Poulard served as special assistant to the Mayor of Washington, D.C. and became the executive director of the Independent Foundation. In 1974, Poulard became the Director for Human Relations for the U.S. General Accounting Office. Poulard is the president of his own management and human relations consulting firm called GPA, Grady Poulard Associates, which he formed in 1975. He is a member of the National Urban League, a board member of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., is involved with the Black Executive Exchange Program, and is a part of the liaison staff of the White House Conference on Civil Rights.

Poulard has published one book and has contributed articles to several professional journals. He is single, and the father of two sons, Kenneth and Michael.

Accession Number

A2005.117

Sex

Male

Interview Date

5/4/2005

Last Name

Poulard

Maker Category

CivicMakers

Occupation

Business Consulting Chief Executive

Civil Rights Activist

Motivational Speaker

Federal Government Administrator

Organizations

National Urban League.

YMCA of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.

Schools

Ross High School

Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

Yale Divinity School

Columbia University

Yale University

Speakers Bureau

Yes

Speakers Bureau Availability

Any

First Name

Grady

Birth City, State, Country

Crowley

HM ID

POU02

Speakers Bureau Preferred Audience

Any

Speakers Bureau Honorarium

Depends on audience - Negotiable

Favorite Season

Spring

Speaker Bureau Notes

Honorarium Specifics: 10% of engagements can be pro bono

Preferred Audience: Any

State

Louisiana

THM DA Link

https://da.thehistorymakers.org/storiesForBio;ID=A2005.117

Favorite Quote

It all comes to pass.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Interview Description

A2005_117_EAD.pdf

A2005_117_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

8/15/1936

Birth Place Term

Crowley

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

USA

Short Description

Business consulting chief executive, civil rights activist, and motivational speaker Grady Poulard (1936 - ) owns the consulting firm, Grady Poulard Associates. In 1972, Poulard served as Special Assistant to the Mayor of Washington, D.C., and became the executive director of the Independent Foundation. In 1974, Poulard became the Director for Human Relations for the U.S. General Accounting Office.

Employment

American Institute of Architects

United States. General Accounting office

Concord Church of Brooklyn

Washington, D.C. Mayor's Office

Christian Medical College (Vellore, India)

Peoples Congregational Church

Council of Federated Organizations (U.S.)

Grady Poulard Associates

Favorite Color

Blue

DAStories

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11921">Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Grady Poulard interview</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11922">Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Grady Poulard's favorites</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11923">Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Grady Poulard discusses his mother's background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11924">Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Grady Poulard discusses his and his father's name</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11925">Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Grady Poulard discusses his father's family background</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11926">Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Grady Poulard details his parents' marriage</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11927">Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Grady Poulard lists his siblings</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11928">Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Grady Poulard shares childhood memories</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11929">Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Grady Poulard details his early education</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11930">Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Grady Poulard remembers his early music lessons</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11931">Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Grady Poulard remembers his preparatory school experience, mid-1950s</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11932">Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Grady Poulard recalls his undergraduate years at Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11933">Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Grady Poulard recalls his experience at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut, late 1950s</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11934">Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Grady Poulard describes the religious climate of the 1960s</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11935">Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Grady Poulard evaluates modern Christianity</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11936">Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Grady Poulard details his assignments to international posts, 1960s</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11937">Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Grady Poulard discusses his first marriage</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11938">Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Grady Poulard details his years in India</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11939">Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Grady Poulard discusses his civil rights involvement as a Council of Federated Organizations official</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11940">Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Grady Poulard recounts his training efforts as a Council of Federated Organizations official</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11941">Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Grady Poulard reflects on his appointment as minister of the People's Congregational United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11942">Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Grady Poulard discusses conservative Christian practices and theories</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11943">Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Grady Poulard evaluates mega-churches</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11944">Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Grady Poulard discusses his civil rights work in the Lyndon B. Johnson administration</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11945">Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Grady Poulard remembers the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11946">Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Grady Poulard reviews his studies in urban affairs</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11947">Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Grady Poulard reviews his efforts as an institutional organizer</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11948">Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Grady Poulard discusses his employment with the Department of Housing and Urban Development</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11949">Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Grady Poulard discusses his employment with the United States General Accounting Office</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11950">Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Grady Poulard describes his venture, Grady Poulard Associates</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11951">Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Grady Poulard shares advice on marriage</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11952">Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Grady Poulard shares reflections on his life's course</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11953">Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Grady Poulard reflects on issues of race and class in the U.S.</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11954">Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Grady Poulard shares his personal philosophy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11955">Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Grady Poulard considers his legacy</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11956">Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Grady Poulard discusses his family</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11957">Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Grady Poulard continues to discuss the institution of marriage</a>

<a href="https://da.thehistorymakers.org/story/11958">Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Grady Poulard describes how he'd like to be remembered</a>

Read more about Grady Poulard

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