Harvard University | The HistoryMakers

Roger Ferguson

Chief executive officer, economist and lawyer Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. was born on October 28, 1951 in Washington, D.C. to Roger Ferguson, Sr. and Alberta Elizabeth Lawson Ferguson. After graduating from Sidwell Friends School, he received his B.S. degree in economics from Harvard University in 1973. Ferguson served as a Frank Knox Fellow at Pembroke College, before receiving his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1979, and his Ph.D. degree in economics from Harvard University in 1981.

Ferguson worked as an attorney for the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardell, LLP in New York before joining McKinsey & Company Inc. in 1984, where he served as an associate, director of research and information systems; and later, as partner. In 1997, Ferguson was appointed to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, becoming the third African American in history to serve on the Federal Reserve Board. In 1999, Ferguson was appointed to serve as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the first African American to serve in that role. Ferguson served as chairman of the Group of Ten Working Party of Financial Sector Consolidation, chairman of the Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS), and the chairman of the Financial Stability Forum (FSF) during his tenure as vice chairman. In 2006, Ferguson resigned as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; and, in 2008, he joined the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) as chief executive officer and President. He also served as economic advisor to President Barack Obama, initially as a member of the President-elect’s Transition Economic Advisory Board and subsequently as a member of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

Ferguson has received the Distinguished Service Award from the Bond Market Association, the William F. Butler Memorial Award from the New York Association for Business Economics, the Renaissance Award from the Abyssinian Development Corporation, and the Frederick Heldering Global Leadership Award from the Global Interdependence Center. He also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Lincoln College, Webster University, Michigan State University, Washington and Jefferson College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. In 2009, Ferguson received The “Visionary Award” from the Council for Economic Education and the “Good Scout Award” from the Greater New York Boy Scout Council.

Ferguson is married to former United States Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Annette Nazareth. They have two children.

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. was interviewed by the The HistoryMakers on May 14, 2012 and October 16, 2019.

Accession Number

A2012.118

Sex

Male

Interview Date

7/30/2012

7/30/2012 |and| 10/16/2019

10/16/2019

Last Name

Ferguson

Maker Category

BusinessMakers

LawMakers

Middle Name

Occupation

Economist

Lawyer

Chief Executive Officer

Organizations

Harvard University

Committee for Economic Development

Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer Center

Institute for Advanced Study

Harvard University Alumni Association

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

National Bureau of Economic Research

Friends of Education

Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

Business Higher Education Forum

Commission on the Future of Graduate Education

Commission o the Humanities and Social Sciences

Council on Foreign Relations

Group of Thirty

Schools

Sidwell Friends School

Harvard University

Harvard Law School

Charles E. Young Elementary School

River Terrace Elementary School

Jefferson Middle School Academy

First Name

Roger

Birth City, State, Country

Washington

HM ID

FER03

Favorite Season

Spring

State

District of Columbia

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2012.118.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/626910

Favorite Vacation Destination

Vermont

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

New York

Interview Description

A2012_118_EAD.pdf

A2012_118_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

10/28/1951

Birth Place Term

Washington

Speakers Bureau Region City

New York

Country

USA

Favorite Food

French Fries

Short Description

Chief executive officer, economist and lawyer Roger W. Ferguson Jr. (1951- ) served as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before joining the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) as president and chief executive officer.

Employment

McKinsey and Company

Davis, Polk & Wardell, LLP

United States Federal Reserve System

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association

Swiss Re America Holding Corporation

International Flavors and Fragrances

Favorite Color

Blue

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/626941

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Roger Ferguson's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Roger Ferguson lists his favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Roger Ferguson describes his mother's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Roger Ferguson describes his father's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Roger Ferguson talks about his paternal step grandfather

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Roger Ferguson describes his father's athletic talents

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Roger Ferguson describes his father's career

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Roger Ferguson describes his father's interest in finance

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Roger Ferguson describes his siblings and how his parents met

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Roger Ferguson describes the sights, sounds and smells of his childhood

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Roger Ferguson describes his neighborhood in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 1 Story: 12 - Roger Ferguson remembers Charles Young Elementary School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Roger Ferguson recalls River Terrace Elementary School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Roger Ferguson recalls his childhood pastimes

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Roger Ferguson describes segregation in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Roger Ferguson remembers Jefferson Junior High School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Roger Ferguson recalls his early interest in the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Roger Ferguson recalls enrolling at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Roger Ferguson describes his social life at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Roger Ferguson recalls his decision to attend Harvard University

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Roger Ferguson recalls the racial tension at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Roger Ferguson describes his work study job at Harvard University

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Roger Ferguson recalls his activism at Harvard University

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Roger Ferguson recalls his economics research in Chile

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Roger Ferguson remembers his graduation from Harvard University

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Roger Ferguson recalls his fellowship in Cambridge, England

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Roger Ferguson recalls his decision to pursue law and economics

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Roger Ferguson recalls his dual graduate degree program at Harvard University

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Roger Ferguson describes his parents' influence on his self esteem

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Roger Ferguson talks about his decision to pursue dual graduate degrees

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Roger Ferguson remembers working at the law firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Roger Ferguson recalls meeting his wife

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Roger Ferguson recalls working at McKinsey and Company

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Roger Ferguson talks about balancing his career and family

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Roger Ferguson recalls how he came to work for the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Roger Ferguson remembers joining the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Roger Ferguson recalls becoming vice chairman of the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Roger Ferguson remembers serving as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Roger Ferguson remembers the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Roger Ferguson recalls his decision to leave the Federal Reserve System

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Roger Ferguson recalls serving as the president and CEO of TIAA-CREFF

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Roger Ferguson describes his hopes and concerns for his children

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Roger Ferguson describes his concerns for the African American community

Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Roger Ferguson reflects upon his legacy at TIAA-CREF

Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Roger Ferguson describes his plans for the future

DASession

1$1

DATape

1$5

DAStory

8$3

DATitle

Roger Ferguson describes his father's interest in finance

Roger Ferguson remembers the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

Transcript

But the thing that was really distinctive about my father [Roger Ferguson, Sr.] was that he was a child of the Depression [Great Depression] and he had lots of stories to tell about the Depression and it clearly impacted him. And the way it impacted him was he became very interested in savings and investments and the way the banking system worked. So the thing I, I remember many things about my father, the thing that really influenced me was that my father got me very interested at a very young age in things having to do with finance and banking and et cetera. And, in fact, as soon as I could do math at a reasonably proficient level, you know, just adding and subtracting, multiplying and dividing, he had me balance the check book.$$Okay.$$And much of our conversation while he was an avid football fan and, you know, loved to bowl and fish, much of our conversation was really about interest rates and investments and safe banks and, and that sort of thing.$$How do you think he acquired that kind of knowledge, he had the interest but how do you think he got the, the knowledge?$$I think he may have gotten it, some from his father [sic. step father, George Ferguson], I think he got it some from school as well, but mainly he was just sort of self taught. He read the newspapers, the other thing I remember about my father is not just that he read newspapers, but he had a broad interest in life and he was a curious person as well. And it, it showed up in, in unusual ways. I've talked a little bit about his interest in, in finance and money and investing, and for a, you know, a guy who was living, my mother [Alberta Lawson Ferguson] was a school teacher, my father worked for the government, they didn't have huge amounts of money so it was unusual for him to be interested in that kind of thing. He was interested in training people in that space, not only did he train me, but my sister [Rochelle Ferguson Washington (ph.)] has a very good friend who has gotten interested in investing in only land and property and she attributes all that to my father.$The thing that proves to be most important about my tenure at the Fed [Federal Reserve System] though is 9/11/2001 [September 11, 2001]. Nine, eleven, two thousand one is a day that obviously along with other fa- sadly a few other days, lives in infamy, 'cause that was the day of the terrorist attacks in United States of America. On that day Alan Greenspan was in Europe, in Switzerland at a big meeting of central banks that occurred every six to eight weeks, sometimes he would go, sometimes I would go, it was his turn to go, all the other governors in the Fed were around the country and the U.S. doing Fed business or giving speeches of, of, or doing other things. And so I was the only governor in Washington, D.C. I'm at my desk as usual at around 8:15, my wife [Annette Nazareth] at this point is an important senior official at the SEC [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission], she runs market regulation. And market regulation team has a desk that watches and monitors markets in real time--$$Um-hm.$$--on a daily basis. And so at about 8:20 at the time, I'm gonna get the time wrong, 8:40, 8:45, my wife calls and says, "Our market watch folks have alerted me that there's something wrong in New York [New York] because one of the World Trade Center towers is on fire, you might just wanna turn on the TV and monitor it"--$$Um-hm.$$--"we don't know what's happening," et cetera. So I turn on the TV, I see the second plane go into the second tower, obviously not a coincidence, not just bad luck, but hard to imagine what it is, you can't quite imagine that anyone would intentionally fly--$$Right--$$--airplanes into the world's tallest buildings in New York. But what it, what I do know is it's gonna be a scramble in Manhattan [New York, New York] because the World Trade Center, very close to the New York Stock Exchange [New York, New York], close to a number of other very important financial services firms and institutions including a company called Bank of New York [Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, New York, New York], which is one of the cl- clearing banks that keeps the, the system operating, the check clearing system operating, but more importantly, keeps the security systems operating and, and money flowing the system. World Trade Center was also very close to the New York Fed [Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York, New York], so it's in the Wall Street area [New York, New York] and obviously I and my wife both know that it's gonna be a tough day that we don't know what the source of the problem is. I immediately then, you know, go to the floor where we are watching and listening to New York in the Fed, decide a couple of things that are very important, the president has announced that there has been some sort of attack and--$$This is President Bush [President George Walker Bush] at this time (simultaneous)?$$--(Simultaneous) President Bush at this point--$$Um-hm.$$--that there's been some sort of attack and that we need to evacuate Washington. I made immediately the executive decision that I was not gonna leave the Fed, others could leave, I couldn't lock the door and make the staff stay, but I was not gonna evacuate my location. That proved to be really pretty important, because everybody else was moving around the city out of touch, my phones were still working, everyone could call me, so the Fed, not just my office, but I was part of it, became the spider in the web of information flow, the SEC, the CFTC [Commodity Futures Trading Commission], the Treasury [U.S. Department of the Treasury], the White House [Washington, D.C.], the New York Fed, a number of the important banks, we in Washington, I at the Fed and my team, the Fed team were central in knowing what was going on.$$And so you kept the financial system together during that time (simultaneous).$$(Simultaneous) So we kept the financial system together. The second thing that we announced was that the Federal Reserve System was open and operating and that we were prepared to lend money.$$Throughout the entire time of--?$$Throughout the entire time. These things, as you point out, through lots of different technical reasons basically kept the Federal, the financial system operating, all checks got paid, the money market system still worked. A lot of technical things called the repo market, still worked and that was very important because there was no panic in America. Imagine if you would come to work one day and your check didn't clear on 9/11 (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Right.$$--or 9/12 [September 12, 2001], or you went to an ATM machine and you couldn't get money out of the machine, and so we kept the system operating, we kept the panic down and I truly believe that because of the good work that the Fed team did on that day, and I happen to be the one in the leadership role for the first two and a half days after 9/11, that we kept the economy from sinking into a deeper recession. At that point the economy had actually started to slow by the way. So I ran the Fed with a team but I was the team leader all on Tuesday, the September 11th, Wednesday September 12th, Alan got back very late on the 12th, he did some quite research, found that I had done a good job and basically I was responsible for the Feds initial reaction all through that first week. And, you know, I'm not a person given to immodesty, as you know--$$Um-hm.$$--and can tell, but, you know, things worked out well, the team did a really good job and in hindsight, obviously, I am pleased with the role that I played in keeping the system functioning--$$Would you say (simultaneous)--$$--(simultaneous) after 9/11.$$--that's one of your proudest moments in your career?$$It's definitely my proudest moment. It's the moment that brought together my knowledge of the banking system, financial markets--$$And technology (simultaneous)?$$--(simultaneous) technology, the way the Fed system worked. It required a lot of international coordination as well, so having spent that time starting back in my little story about going to Chile and England, and other things that I did. So it all came together. It also was a time where communication was important and I learned a lot of communication skills from McKinsey [McKinsey and Company, New York, New York] and frankly sort of interpersonal skills, which are important all through life. So it's absolutely my finest moment and, you know, had we made other decisions, had I decided to evacuate the building or not keep the Fed System open, or not issue a statement, or not lend money, I do believe things would have been, you know, much worse.

Read more about Roger Ferguson

The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook

Religious leader and corporate entrepreneur Suzan Johnson Cook was born January 28, 1957, in New York City. Her mother was a schoolteacher and her father, a trolley car driver. They founded a security guard business that moved the family from a Harlem, New York, tenement to a home in the Gunn Hill section of the Bronx, New York. Cook was one of the few African American children to attend the Riverdale Country Day School in the Bronx, and her parents helped to organize an African American Parent Teachers Association. Cook studied acting and singing at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, where she received her B.S. degree. She has also received her M.A. degree in education from Columbia University, her M.Div. degree from Union Theological Seminary and her D.Min. degree from Ohio's United Theological Seminary. She is also a graduate of Harvard University’s President’s Administrative Fellows Program.

In 1983, Cook was appointed pastor of the Mariner’s Temple Baptist Church in lower Manhattan, becoming the first African American woman to be named pastor by the American Baptist Association in its two hundred year history. At Mariner’s Temple, she inaugurated the Wednesday Lunch Hour of Power. After thirteen years of service, in 1996, she became the founder and senior pastor of the Bronx Fellowship Christian Church. In 1990, David Dinkins appointed Cook as the first woman chaplain to the New York Police Department. She was also the first woman to be elected president of the Hampton University Minister’s Conference.

Cook served on the Domestic Policy Council in the White House in 1993, and with HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros as a consultant on Faith Initiatives from 1994 to 1997. Then, she became the co-founder and chief operating officer of JONCO Productions, Inc., a sales, management, and diversity firm which hosts a speaker's bureau and media/book distributions. She is the author of several books including the best seller, Too Blessed To Be Stressed, released in 2002.

In 1997, Ebony magazine named Cook one of the top fifteen women in ministry in the nation, and in 2000, she was named one of New York’s top five preachers. Cook lives in New York City with her husband, Ronald and their two sons, Samuel David and Christopher Daniel.

Accession Number

A2005.251

Sex

Female

Interview Date

12/1/2005 |and| 7/24/2007

12/1/2005

7/24/2007

Last Name

Cook

Maker Category

ReligionMakers

Middle Name

Johnson

Occupation

Pastor

Organizations

Delta Sigma Theta

Hampton University Ministers’ Conference

Harvard University

Schools

Riverdale Country School

P.S. 78

Columbia University

Emerson College

First Name

Suzan

Birth City, State, Country

New York

HM ID

JOH25

Favorite Season

Spring, Summer

State

New York

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2005.251.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/308344

Favorite Vacation Destination

Anywhere Warm, Water

Favorite Quote

To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Interview Description

A2005_251_EAD.pdf

A2005_251_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

1/28/1957

Birth Place Term

New York

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Spaghetti

Short Description

Pastor The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook (1957 - ) was the first African American woman to be named pastor by the American Baptist Association and the first woman chaplain for the New York City Police Department. She is co-founder and chief operating officer of JONCO Productions, Inc., a sales, management, and diversity firm, and is the author of the bestselling, "Too Blessed to Be Stressed," released in 2002.

Employment

Mariner's Temple

Bronx Christian Fellowship Baptist Church

White House

WJLA-TV

WPLG-TV

Favorite Color

Blue, Purple

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/308364

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook's interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook lists her favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her family homes in New York and North Carolina

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her mother's family background in Monroe, North Carolina

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her parents' careers in New York City

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her maternal family's history in North Carolina

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her father's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her paternal family's experiences as sharecroppers

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls her parents' drive to succeed

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook reflects on how she values her African American heritage

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her earliest childhood memories

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her childhood community in New York City

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls the importance of Harlem, New York in her childhood

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes the role of religion in her childhood

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls experiencing racism in grade school

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her experiences at P.S. 78

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook remembers her calling to the ministry

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls her formative religious experiences

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls attending Riverdale Country School in the Bronx

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her choice to attend Emerson College

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her education after Emerson College

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her job at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls traveling to Africa with Yolanda King

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls her TV career in the early 1980s

Tape: 3 Story: 8 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her time at New York City's Union Theological Seminary

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls New York City's Union Baptist Church

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her classmates and mentors at Union Theological Seminary

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook reflects on her approach to her ministry

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes becoming pastor at Mariner's Temple

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes her tenure at Mariner's Temple

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes the American Baptist Churches denomination

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes the Lunch Hour of Power at Mariner's Temple

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls becoming a New York City Police Department chaplain

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls pastoring in New York on 9/11, pt. 1

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls pastoring in New York on 9/11, pt. 2

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook remembers meeting her husband, Ronald Cook

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls marrying Ronald Cook

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls her fellowship at Harvard Divinity School

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes becoming a White House Fellow

Tape: 6 Story: 2 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook shares her impressions of President Bill Clinton

Tape: 6 Story: 3 - The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls moving to Washington, D.C.

DASession

1$2

DATape

2$5

DAStory

4$3

DATitle

The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook describes the role of religion in her childhood

The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook recalls pastoring in New York on 9/11, pt. 1

Transcript

How was faith introduced to you as a child?$$I was born into a family of faith, which I am so fortunate. Everyone was a believer, everyone was a churchgoer, and so Sunday mornings, no matter how much we hung out Friday and Saturday, Sunday mornings we dressed for church. We went as a family. Because we had moved to the northeast Bronx [New York], my mother [Dorothy Cuthbertson Johnson] wanted us to know the neighborhood children so we would go to Sunday school where we lived, but we'd take the bus down to Harlem [New York, New York]. We would go to my mother's church [Rendall Memorial Presbyterian Church, New York, New York], which was Presbyterian, and you know, they're out in an hour, and by the time we left and walked up the avenue to my dad's church [Union Baptist Church, New York, New York], which was on 145th Street, the Baptist church, we would sit in his church, or stand outside of his church and we had these two wonderful communities that embraced us. So faith was extremely important. It was also where the emerging black middle class worshipped together. We sat next to the first black judges, the first black doctors, the first black lawyers, and they would ask us questions in our faith community, "So young lady where are you going to school?" It was never a matter of do you plan to finish high school, like some people ask today. Are you getting a GED [General Educational Development]? That was not even part of the lingo. I didn't hear what GED meant until I was an adult. It was where are you thinking about college? This is like fifth and sixth grade, and you're like, "Well I'm looking at Boston [Massachusetts] and Atlanta [Georgia]," you know, and they would tell us about some historically black colleges [HBCUs] that many of them attended, or they'd tell us about the Harvards [Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts] and the Princetons [Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey]. They'd ask us what our goals were. So what it was doing was strategic planning and goal-setting at a very young age. We didn't know that's what it was called, but they were getting us to have a vision that was larger than 144th Street, larger than the village of Harlem, larger than the world in which we lived, and because of that, when programs came up in the summer, it was our faith community that would say, "You know, this is a camp that we think Suzan [HistoryMaker Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook] would like. This is a program Suzan might be interested in," and so my parents would either by reputation or by having experienced it themselves, would channel us into these. So I went to a faith camp, Incarnation [Incarnation Camp, Ivoryton, Connecticut], which is still in existence today, and my children [Samuel Cook and Christopher Cook] now go to it, so it's, you know--$$What's a faith camp?$$It's called Incarnation Camp. It's up in, where they actually worship on Sundays, you know, it's a Christian camp, but they do the regular stuff with, you know, boating and swimming, but on Sundays they stop and give thanks, and so the value system is faith. My children attend a school that's faith oriented. It's a private school, but they have chapel and so they, you know faith is very important to me as a parent, as a pastor, as a daughter of, of one who was born into a faith family. We said grace every day. You know, the food would be out on the table, but it's, we had to give thanks because we wouldn't have all of this without being connected to God. And so, we did our--my father [Wilbert Johnson], my earliest remembrance of my father and my last remembrance of my father was that every night he kneeled down and prayed, and he would pray a long time so we could go in and out the room and he'd still be on his knees. I mean it was serious, and so because you have a praying father, you feel a different sense of faith than perhaps one who didn't because you saw it in action. You saw the decisions he made for our lives as our provider and our protector, were prayed over, and so you kind of have to, because your first introduction to faith is you mimic the faith of your parents, you mimic their behavior, what they do, and then at a certain point it kicks in that I believe in what they've been teaching me. You don't know that as a child, you just know that there's a culture that says something affirming about God, and when you hear it enough, and it wasn't a lot of God talk, but there was a lot of praying and there was a lot of churchgoing. And, so by the time I became a teenager, my faith formation had happened, and it was because of my parents and my grandparents and the people I was around that faith was not a problem for me. It was actually a joy, and I captured it. I did the same thing in college [Emerson College, Boston, Massachusetts]. We partied all Friday and Saturday night, but Sunday morning, other kids were asleep in the dorm and I was like, "I'm going to church," and eventually a lot of people started going with me. But it was part of my system, and I have no regrets and I've met some wonderful people in the faith community and that's who I am, I'm a faith leader.$And can you feel the calm that you stimulate in officers [at the New York City Police Department] and the surrounding (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Without question. I can, I can remember people coming in my office, you know, I mean, crying or stressed out, whatever the job or life, what I call Life 101, has done to them, and they leave and I pray with them and we join hands and then we hug. I mean not just Christians, I've had Jewish persons. I've had women, I've had men, I've had every persuasion come in, and there is a calm, there is something that happens. We call it the anointing in the Christian church, but there is something that happens when in the privacy, and the great thing about being a police chaplain is that you don't have to do it right at headquarters. We can meet them anonymously anywhere in the city, so if someone needs me to meet them in a bar, if that's their comfort level until they're able to kind of talk it through, I'll go, no one will know it but that person and myself, but when we leave there, it's not the bar that's the dominant factor, it is, the power of the Lord has spoken in this place, and so they are able to leave a different way than they came. The most prevalent memory is 9/11 [September 11, 2001], because we were the chaplains who had to respond. There were twenty-six police officers who were lost in the line of duty, in that horrific, and the city [New York, New York] was paralyzed, you know. We had never experienced war and terrorism on these shores, and even internally, I was experiencing, you know, my gosh, but we had to rise to the occasion because we had to be the leaders for the leaders, and I think, if I can think of a time that God really used me and I knew it, it was during that time, because after I had done the Wednesday lunch hour services [Lunch Hour of Power] and I left Mariner's [Mariner's Temple, New York, New York], I created a new service called Wonderful Wall Street Wednesday, ten blocks south of where Mariner's was, people who said that they couldn't have made it in ten minutes to Mariner's were asking me, "Can you do something at lunch time?" So I created this for the Wall Street community and the small United Methodist Church, called John Street United Methodist Church [New York, New York] and we had been in our fourth year of doing it, every Wednesday, and I was like, "God why am I coming from the Bronx [New York] every Wednesday down on the subway, for a half an hour." And then 9/11 happened on September 11th, five years ago, what was that, 2002, 2001, 2001 (simultaneous)--$$Two thousand one [2001]? I thought it was 2001.$$--and we were scheduled to open our Wall Street service on September 12th.$$Oh, wow.$$Because we would take a break for the summer, so it was going to open the next Wednesday, the next day. And 9/11 happened and so New York City stopped, and we had to respond to the police families in the whole department. The next Wednesday, however, people were ordered to go back to work. They gave them a couple of days off to get yourself together, but New York doesn't just stop forever, so people had to go back to work and that next Wednesday, now which would have been September 19th, this Wednesday service that I did was right down the block from the World Trade Center [New York, New York]. It was the only structure not hit on the entire block. You could see dust and fumes and fire flames and evidence of 9/11 every other building surrounding it. This church stood there with nothing on it. So the people were able to come physically into this church, packed.$$What did you talk about that day?$$Well, there, first let me, their description was, their eyes were filled with terror and the tears were streaming because they were afraid. They were not ready to go back to work. They needed a job, but they weren't ready. The trauma that had happened, and there's a scripture that came to my mind as they came in, that is in the Bible that says, God is a refuge in a time of trouble, a very present help in the time of need, and that's the scripture that bubbled in my spirit as they came in. This place is the refuge. This is the shelter, and God said to me, that's why you come down every Wednesday, because you were supposed to be here.$$You asked.$$Yeah, you asked. You were supposed to be here for this moment. And it wasn't even about the message. We actually had a guest preacher that day. We had Dr. Calvin Butts [HistoryMaker Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts] that day, and the press was there, of course, to cover, you know, these people coming back to work, but that was, it was what I call a ministry of presence.

Read more about The Honorable Reverend Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook

Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds

Award-winning journalist, author, and minister, Barbara Ann Reynolds, was born on August 17, 1942, in Columbus, Ohio. Raised by her step grandmother, Mae Stewart, Reynolds attended St. Cyprian Catholic School, Franklin Junior High School, and graduated from Columbus East High School in 1960. Starting at Central State University, Reynolds graduated from Ohio State University (OSU) with her B.A. degree in journalism in 1967. At OSU, Reynolds wrote for The Lantern and the Columbus Call and Post.

Employed as a social worker in Cleveland, Reynolds was hired by the Cleveland Press in 1968, where she covered the race riots. Hired by Ebony magazine in 1969, Reynolds became assistant editor and wrote the monthly food column, A Date with a Dish. A poet, Reynolds was published in Black World and was associated with Kuumba Theatre and the OBAC Writers Workshop. In 1969, Reynolds joined Chicago Today where she covered the murder of Fred Hampton; that same year, she moved to the Chicago Tribune, where she helped found Dollars and Sense magazine. In 1975, Reynolds wrote the controversial biography, Jesse Jackson, the man, the myth and the movement, which was revised ten years later as Jesse Jackson, America’s David. Reynolds was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 1976. Reynolds served as Washington correspondent for the Chicago Tribune until 1980 and wrote a regular column for USA Today until 1996. Reynolds hosted a radio talk show called Barbara’s Beat and was host of WHUT’s Evening Exchange. Reynolds penned No, I Won’t Shut Up: 30 Years of Telling It Like It Is with a foreword by Coretta Scott King in 1998, and the autobiographical, Out of Hell and Living Well in 2005. In addition to these activities, Reynolds was founder and president of Reynolds News Service.

Attracted to spirituality, Reynolds attended Howard University Divinity School in 1988, graduating in 1992. Reynolds was ordained as a minister in 1993 after a spiritual experience at the Door of No Return in Senegal, then earned her D. Min. from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 1997. Reynolds served as a minister at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and was founder of Harriet’s Children, an organization that assisted women who abused alcohol and drugs.

Accession Number

A2005.156

Sex

Female

Interview Date

6/30/2005

Last Name

Reynolds

Maker Category

MediaMakers

Occupation

Author

Media Company Chief Executive

Newspaper Columnist

Organizations

Harvard University

Schools

Howard University School of Divinity

St. Cyprian Catholic School

Franklin Junior High School

East High School

Central State University

The Ohio State University

United Theological Seminary

Search Occupation Category

MediaMakers:Print

Speakers Bureau Availability

Depends on Schedule

First Name

Barbara

Birth City, State, Country

Columbus

HM ID

REY01

Speakers Bureau Preferred Audience

Youth, Adults, Seniors, Those facing life style struggles, those needing spiritual makeovers, also Political events over the last 35 years.

Speakers Bureau Honorarium

Yes - Negotiable

Favorite Season

Fall

Speaker Bureau Notes

Preferred Audience: Youth, Adults, Seniors, Those facing life style struggles, those needing spiritual makeovers, also Political events over the last 35 years.

State

Ohio

THM DA Link

http://marc.thehistorymakers.org/thmdigital/A2005.156.htm

Web Clip 1

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/347969

Favorite Vacation Destination

Cruises

Favorite Quote

Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart And Lean Not On Your Own Understanding; In All Your Ways Submit To Him, And He Will Make Your Paths Straight.

Bio Photo

Speakers Bureau Region State

District of Columbia

Interview Description

A2005_156_EAD.pdf

A2005_156_EAC.pdf

Birth Date

8/17/1942

Birth Place Term

Columbus

Speakers Bureau Region City

Washington

Country

USA

Favorite Food

Popcorn

Short Description

Author, media company chief executive, and newspaper columnist Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds (1942 - ) wrote for the Chicago Tribune and USA Today. She also authored a biography of Reverend Jesse Jackson: Jesse Jackson, America's David.

Employment

Call & Post

The State of Ohio

The Cleveland Press

Ebony Magazine

Chicago Today

Dollars & Sense Magazine

USA Today

Chicago Tribune

Greater Mount Calvary Church

Favorite Color

Red

Web Clip 2

https://thmdaprodmedia.blob.core.windows.net/media/story/video/277820

Timing Pairs

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DAStories

Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds' interview

Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds lists her favorites

Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her mother's family background

Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her maternal grandparents

Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her father's family background, pt. 1

Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her father's family background, pt. 2

Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her step-grandmother's personality and how she resembles her

Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her step-grandmother's background

Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about her parents' lives after her birth

Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her earliest childhood memory

Tape: 1 Story: 11 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds reflects upon her mother's abandonment

Tape: 1 Story: 12 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds explains why she wanted to be a writer

Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes the sights, sounds and smells of her childhood

Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds recalls writing about her childhood trauma

Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about her time in a mental institution

Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds remembers attending St. Cyprian School in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her mentor, Waldo Tyler

Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her experience at Franklin Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her transition to public school

Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her extracurricular activities at East High School in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her high school graduation

Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her time at Central State College in Wilberforce, Ohio

Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes living in California with her mother

Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her mother's family

Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her decision to go to The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes barriers to entering journalism

Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes covering riots in Cleveland, Ohio

Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about being hired by HistoryMaker John. H Johnson

Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds recalls volunteering to register voters in 1965

Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes encountering racism in the South and at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio

Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes working at Johnson Publications in Chicago, Illinois

Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes working at Ebony magazine

Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about writing poetry

Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her experience at Chicago Today

Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes co-founding Dollars & Sense magazine

Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes writing front-page stories for Chicago Today

Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds remembers covering Fred Hampton's assassination

Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes the aftermath of Fred Hampton's assassination, pt. 1

Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes the aftermath Fred Hampton's assassination, pt. 2

Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes covering role models in the African American community

Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about meeting and covering HistoryMaker Reverend Jesse L. Jackson

Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes writing 'Jesse Jackson: the Man, the Movement, the Myth'

Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds recalls her decision to publish 'Jesse Jackson: the Man, the Movement, the Myth'

Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about the aftermath of publishing 'Jesse Jackson: the Man, the Movement, the Myth'

Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds details her reporting on HistoryMaker Reverend Jesse L. Jackson

Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds shares her thoughts on Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s suspected affairs

Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about being a Washington D.C. correspondent for the Chicago Tribune

Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds recounts covering the Iran Hostage Crisis

Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her years at 'USA Today'

Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes John Seigenthaler

Tape: 6 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds explains why she left USA Today

Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her spiritual awakening

Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about attending church and being saved

Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes how her faith impacted her writing

Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes conflicts with her USA Today editor

Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her experience at Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C.

Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds recounts how she quit drinking on a trip to Senegal

Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her doctoral studies at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio

Tape: 7 Story: 8 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about Harriet's Children

Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds talks about adopting her son, John Eric Reynolds

Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her concerns for the African American community, pt. 1

Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her concerns for the African American community, pt. 2

Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds reflects upon her life

Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds reflects upon her legacy

Tape: 8 Story: 6 - Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes how she would like to be remembered

DASession

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DATape

4$7

DAStory

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DATitle

Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds remembers covering Fred Hampton's assassination

Reverend Dr. Barbara Reynolds describes her doctoral studies at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio

Transcript

So one morning, it must have been about three o'clock, I got a call to go over on the West Side [Chicago, Illinois]. It wasn't anything different, because I was the only one who would go on the West Side. And they said, "I want you to go to Fred Hampton's apartment." I said, "That's strange. Why would I want to go to Fred Hampton's apartment? It's three o'clock in the morning." So I got over there, and it was a scene I had never seen. I mean, there were just blue and white paddy wagons just all over the neighborhood, with all of these flashing lights. And I showed them the press card, and they let me in his apartment. And there was blood all over the carpet. And there was a green blood-stained bedspread that someone told me they had covered Fred's body in, and had dragged him out of there into a paddy wagon before I got there. And I was just dumbfounded, because there were about a hundred holes in the apartment. And I called this guy I was dating who was a policeman. And he said, he showed me how to find out whether it was coming from out or in. And I said, "They're all coming from the same direction. They're all splintering from the outside." He said, "That's not a shootout, that's a shoot-in." And he came flying over there, and he coached me. And I remember that for a couple editions, the paper [Chicago Today] did say that this was a shoot-in. But as the news gathered, by the next day the headlines were saying, shoot-out between the Panthers [Black Panther Party] and the police, when there was never a shoot-out, it was a shoot-in. Now I had known Fred Hampton, and this really touched me, because he was a guy that I would see and joke with. I mean, he was about as harmless as you are sitting here. You know he, the Panthers were feeding people in the black community. There were a group of blacks that were harmful. That was Jeff Fort, and his P Stone Rangers [sic. Blackstone Rangers; Black P. Stone Nation]. But the white press just glorified them, and talked about what great guys they were. And you know, they'd have parties for them, some of the white liberals, you know. And these are just undeserving people that needed a chance. But here's these Panthers who are actually doing something for us. And they were talking bad, you know, off the pigs, but so were the white guys with the long hair. Everybody was talking, but we were just talking, just like I was talking with my poetry, and meant none of it. You know, so here's a guy who I talked to. He used to wear his little black felt hat. And he was gonna be a lawyer. He was, that's what he said. He even worked at the NAACP [National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]. And so, you know, they shot him. They also killed Mark Clark. And Fred's girlfriend was pregnant at the time, and she survived all this. But after I was there, I said surely the people who did this terrible thing--this is an assassination, they will pay. But I was so wrong.$And I really thought that that was the end of it. You know, I stopped drinking, and I'm a minister now. But then something else happened. I've got a notice that they were starting this, these classes at the United Theological center [sic.] in Dayton [Ohio]--seminary [United Theological Seminary] in Dayton. So I went up there to investigate about getting my doctorate. And [Reverend Dr.] Claudette [A.] Copeland was the professor. And she wanted twelve black women to study under her, to learn how to build models of care for women in America. And so twelve of us came to study under her. And my assignment was to build a model of care for women struggling with alcohol and drugs. Another woman's assignment was to deal with depression. Another one was to, how to help people struggle through sexual abuse or domestic abuse. But mine came out of my spiritual autobiography that they had us write. And I named my project Harriet's Children in honor of Harriet Tubman who delivered over three hundred blacks from slavery and bondage. So, I named the program after her. Then I began to understand that I had to do more than just come out of bondage of, to cigarettes, drugs, and alcohol myself. And when I say drugs, I used prescription drugs, but they were still drugs. I had to go back, and I had to get women who were still in bondage to drugs and alcohol. Because I looked around in my community, and I saw the fact that so many African American men had abandoned the children. You know, the breakup of the black family is devastating. Black men either are in prison, out there on drugs. The children are not protected, no guidance. And now the woman who you could always count on to be there when they weren't--the woman, black woman is going to jail at record rates. They are the fastest growing statistic in jails, and also a victim of HIV/AIDS [human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome]. So now what's going to happen to the children if the daddy's gone and the momma's gone? There's something I used to call zero parents population.$$Population growth, right, right.$$No, what I'm saying is zero parent.$$Oh.$$Meaning that parents are being reduced to zero; there's no parents there. The children are being passed to foster homes or grandparents, or somebody. But there's nobody there for them. And so, I said I have to work with women, I have to do something. So I started a ministry.

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