At 85, Johnnetta Betsch Cole still pushing for social justice: 'That's what drives me'

When educator, social activist and Jacksonville native Johnnetta Betsch Cole receives the 2022 ATHENA International Global Award on Sept. 15, she will not view it as the culmination of a lifetime of achievement and accolades.

Even at age 85, she takes such recognition not as acknowledgment of past work, but fuel to keep educating and keep campaigning for the rights of women, the LGBTQ community, people of color and the disabled, among others.

"I haven't budged in my commitment to speaking out, and I am sticking to my commitment to social justice," Cole said. "… When you are acknowledged for doing work, make sure you continue to do that work."

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Recognition, she said, is "not for work well-done, but as incentive to do the work."

She turns 86 in October but plans to keep at it as long her health holds out, "Lord willing and the creek don't rise," she said, with a laugh.

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Chicago-based ATHENA International is a nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 1982 to build a "global pipeline of women leaders from the classroom to the boardroom," using a leadership model with eight principles, according to its website.

Based on recommendations from chambers of commerce, women’s organizations and universities, the ATHENA gives national and international awards to women who have "achieved the highest level of professional excellence," work to improve community quality of life and help other people realize their full potential, according to the website.

The first global award was given to groundbreaking journalist Nina Totenberg in 1994, and only 40 women have received it since. Other honorees include the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, tennis star Billie Jean King, American labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta and NASA astronaut Christina Koch.

Cole, who will receive the award at a University of North Florida ceremony, holds her own with that crowd.

She has a bachelor of arts degree in sociology and master's and doctoral degrees in anthropology. She spent two years in Liberia, West Africa, for her dissertation field research in anthropology and later taught at four colleges where she helped develop African studies programs.

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In 1987 she was named the first African American woman as president of Spelman College and later as president of Bennett College, making her the only person to serve as president of both historically Black colleges for women in the United States. She served as director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art and as president of the National Council of Negro Women in Washington.

Also, she is an author and speaker about civil rights, diversity, equity and inclusion.

"Dr. Cole’s trailblazing work and exemplary accomplishments embody everything ATHENA International has represented in advancing and empowering women leaders throughout the world," President and CEO Traci Corey said. "We are honored and privileged to recognize her achievements."

Cole had a trailblazing role model in great-grandfather A.L. Lewis, who with only an elementary school education helped found the Afro-American Life Insurance Co. in 1901 and became Florida’s first African American millionaire. In 1935 he and his business partners co-founded American Beach in Nassau County as a vacation destination for African Americans during the days of segregation.

He taught his great-grandchildren to use the Bible, their school books and their bank books to become successful adults and help change the world. Cole is still working on that change-the-world part.

She holds workshops on the importance of diversity and equity and inclusiveness. Her speaking engagements — including a recent appearance at the Jacksonville Civil Rights Conference — preach the same things.

"It's been challenging, as it has been for anybody who lives in a community in our world," Cole said. "It's not just one thing. The pandemic, all the racial reckoning, the divisiveness. We have got to fix it."

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Cole also speaks out through her writing. Her books include "Dream the Boldest Dreams: And Other Lessons of Life," "Gender Talk: The Struggle for Women's Equality in African American Communities," "Straight Talk: Conversations with America's Sister President," "Racism in American Public Life: A Call to Action" and "African Proverbs for All Ages," which she said is the first children's book included in Oprah's Book Club.

The tentative title of her next book, currently in her publisher's hands, is "Johnnetta Betsch Cole: Life and Speaking Truth and Power," a collection of her speeches.

Cole described herself as a combination of realist and optimist. So she keeps going, campaigning for civil rights and social justice.

"That's what drives me," she said. "I have tried my best to do what I can do."

Carol J. Alexander is founding director of the American Beach Museum, recently renamed the A.L. Lewis Museum at American Beach, and a longtime friend of Cole.

"Johnnetta and I have supported, loved and cared for each other for years," she said. "I am a beneficiary of her wisdom, sage advice and compassion for living and proud to be a 'sister friend' to this extraordinary phenomenal woman."

Cole has made "stellar" contributions to education, institution building and the advancement of women, especially Black women, Alexander said.

Rediscovering American Beach, Jacksonville

In May, Cole and her husband, J.D. Staton, achieved a longtime dream.

After living all across the country, then settling in Fernandina Beach, they moved into their new retirement home in American Beach. Building a home during the pandemic, she said, was "difficult," as was a spell of bad health she had in 2021.

"We're there full time," she said. "We don't travel extensively. We take the pandemic seriously."

Cole relishes living in one of her family's legacies. Her return to American Beach is not only momentous for her, but also for the community, Alexander said.

"After years of traveling and living around the world, returning home to American Beach provides Johnnetta rest, relaxation and reflection," she said. "For our community, her return brings knowledge and resources and new insights for interpreting the story, the culture and the family legacy of American Beach and Northeast Florida."

Cole is also excited about "becoming more connected to the Jacksonville community," where she was born and grew up, she said.

In addition to participating in the Civil Rights Conference, she is personally involved in two efforts that echo back to her great-grandfather.

Cole is on the board of the museum, which opened in 2014. Currently closed for renovation, it is to reopen Oct. 15.

"It is such a special place to tell the stories of all of us, not just some of us," Cole said.

Her late sister, MaVynee Betsch, an opera singer-turned historian, activist and environmentalist known as "The Beach Lady," led a longtime effort to save what was left of American Beach from development. That effort also led to the site's listing on the National Register of Historic Places and the founding of the museum.

The Betsch family are descendants of plantation owner Zephaniah Kingsley and his African-born wife, Anna Madgigine Jai, once a slave who ran a cotton plantation at Fort George Island in Duval County.

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Also, she and Staton are founding members of the recently launched A.L. Lewis Black Opportunity & Impact Fund. Based at The Community Foundation for Northeast Florida, the fund will be a vehicle for Black philanthropists to invest in Jacksonville's Black community.

"I am so excited about this," Cole said. "Our hope is that those who have been fortunate ... find an interest in helping folks who really need it."

Her ongoing life of service stems from her great-grandfather's teachings. She has adopted as her theme a quote heard throughout her childhood: "Doing for others is just the rent you gotta pay for your room on Earth."

"We've been blessed," Cole said. "We've got a bit of rent to pay."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

JOHNNETTA BETSCH COLE: 2022 ATHENA INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL AWARD

The luncheon event will be 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15, at the Adam W. Hebert University Center, University of North Florida, 12000 Alumni Drive in Jacksonville. Lunch tickets are $60. To reserve a seat, become a corporate sponsor or get more information, go to bit.ly/3OSmqQV or call (904) 366-6640.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Educator, activist Johnnetta Betsch Cole to be honored