Renfrow Hall dedication celebrates Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith’s extraordinary legacy
October 4, 2024 — “Grinnell is home,” said Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith ’37, DHL ’19 on Saturday an hour before Grinnell’s new downtown residence hall was dedicated in her honor. “It’s been home forever. It’s 110 years of my life.”
Coming in from Chicago, Renfrow Smith returned home last weekend where she was joined by about 45 extended family members in celebration of the Renfrow Hall dedication. The College’s first Black alumna and the oldest living Grinnell graduate, Renfrow Smith attended many of the weekend events and welcomed a string of well-wishers – all with a smile.
Her achievements, generosity, and dedication to the Grinnell community were on full display throughout the weekend.
Trustee Julie Gosselink, right, and President Anne F. Harris officially dedicate Renfrow Hall, the College’s first downtown residence hall.
“Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s life reminds us of the power of place,” said Trustee Julie Gosselink at the dedication ceremony. “She was raised in Grinnell, and it was here she found doorways to education. While not all doors may have been readily open to her pursuit, it was her persistence and commitment to learning, which forced them to let her through. In turn, this town has been transformed by her impact. She has carried the spirit with her in everything she has accomplished from her work as an educator to her lifelong commitment to civil rights and social justice.”
In front of an overflow crowd just outside the new building, Renfrow Hall was officially dedicated Saturday afternoon.
“We welcome joy in dedicating this place of community and civic engagement in the name of Mrs. Renfrow Smith, who has throughout her long life and meaningful work embodied the principles of family, community, and education sustained by her mother’s inspiration that no one is better than you,” said President Anne F. Harris.
A unique blend of living and learning
Renfrow Hall is the College’s first residence hall in downtown Grinnell. Located on Broad Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, Renfrow Hall will soon be the new home to 109 students who are committed to building a stronger, more engaged community. With four stories and two towers connected by a crossover loggia, the design encourages a unique blend of living and learning. It is anticipated students will be able to move their belongings in by the end of the fall semester and begin living there in January.
Dedication attendees chat and take a look at a permanent display honoring Renfrow Smith’s life and contributions in the south tower of the new building.
“So many individuals on this campus and in this town have played a significant role in our newest residence hall on Broad Street,” said Vice President of Student Affairs JC Lopez. “What a fitting street for its location, Broad Street. That alone amplifies the goals and aims of this structure. Renfrow Hall has included many things and people from the beginning. So much so that we expect the building to serve as a powerful reminder of community.”
Renfrow Hall features a permanent display honoring Renfrow Smith’s life and contributions. While building construction is ongoing, portions of the south tower were open to dedication attendees on Saturday, including the Renfrow installation, a couple of student apartments, and the Katherine Howell Weingart ’61 Civic Innovation Pavilion.
Steve Howell ’63 designated a gift to Grinnell on behalf of his sister, Kathie Howell Weingart ’61, to name the space, which is dedicated to civic innovation, providing space for dialogue, exchange, problem solving, and collaborative brainstorming with the community. It already served that purpose Saturday morning as Renfrow Smith and her family members conversed with Grinnellians.
“It’s a nice place, and I think the students will like it,” Renfrow Smith said. “The carpet [in the Civic Innovation Pavilion] is so nice to walk on. This part would also appeal to kids and grownups. It’s a lovely building.”
Edith Renfrow Smith ’37 meets two students that sing in the Young, Gifted, and Black Gospel Choir. The YGB performed Lift Every Voice And Sing to conclude the dedication ceremony.
Allycia Lemme, a family member visiting from Detroit, agreed with her great, great aunt’s assessment of Renfrow Hall.
“We went on a tour earlier, and if I could have lived in this dorm when I was in college, I really would have,” Lemme said. “It’s the most decked out dorm I’ve seen in my life. Having this dedication is a huge honor for Edith and our family. Seeing the impact she has had on these people in Grinnell is awesome.”
A legacy for Black women at Grinnell
A weekend full of dedication events began Friday morning with a welcome parade featuring Renfrow Smith and her family members, Team Renfrow, and the Grinnell High School Marching Band. Community members cheered and children held up signs across the two mile parade route.
Elizabeth Dobbs, a retired medieval literature professor at the College, was among many Grinnell residents who lined the parade route.
Renfrow Smith waves to Grinnell residents who lined the parade route Friday morning. Several youngsters made signs welcoming her.
“I think this weekend is wonderful, and I think it’s wonderful that she can be here,” Dobbs said about Renfrow Smith. “I’m so glad we’re honoring her. She clearly loves Grinnell High School and Grinnell College. Having grown up living as one of the few African American families here, I’m glad she retained good memories.”
Born in 1914, Renfrow Smith grew up in one of the oldest Black families in Grinnell. Her parents – Eva Pearl Craig and Lee Augustus Renfrow – married and settled in Grinnell in 1901. (Eva Pearl’s parents, George and Eliza Jane Craig, had arrived in the community in the 1890s.) The fifth of six Renfrow children, Edith attended school at Davis Elementary and then Grinnell High School, graduating in 1932. She went on to earn a psychology degree at the College.
“She decided to attend Grinnell College, and she ensured that nothing would get in the way of that,” said Feven Getachew ’24. “As the only Black student for four years, tuition was $175, so she had to work multiple jobs. She had to walk two miles every day from home to the College and back despite the unbearable winters and unforgiving summer of Grinnell’s weather. No matter the struggles she faced, Mrs. Smith continued to move forward, creating a legacy that Black Grinnell College students, especially Black women, are proud of and can take part in.”
Banners honoring 25 Black alumnae lined the space of the dedication area Saturday as a tribute to the legacy Mrs. Renfrow Smith has forged at Grinnell. Several of the women featured in the banners attended the dedication.
Delabian Rice-Thurston ’66 stands next to her banner.
“I had not known at that time there was a Black woman who was here that many years ago,” Delabian Rice-Thurston ’66 said about Renfrow Smith. “When I came to Grinnell, Mabel Banister ’64 and myself were the only two Black females on campus. I enjoyed my four years here. It’s wonderful to come back.”
Other dedication weekend events included installation of larger than life temporary wheat paste murals across town, the Rooted in Resilience: Celebrating the Legacy of Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith exhibit at the Smith Gallery, and a dance to the sounds of FunkDaddies in Central Park sponsored by JELDWEN Window and Doors.
Monique McLay Shore ’90 gave a reading of her children’s book, No One is Better Than You: Edith Renfrow Smith and the Power of a Mother’s Words and Team Renfrow led tours at Hazelwood Cemetery, focusing on the stories of African Americans in early Grinnell.
Team Renfrow’s groundbreaking research has shined a light on Renfrow Smith’s life and legacy, as an educator and engaged community member whose example inspires others. Team Renfrow is led by Dr. Tamara Beauboeuf-Lafontant, Louise R. Noun ’29 Chair in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, and includes alumni Shore and Getachew. Current students on Team Renfrow are Evie Caperton ’25, Libby Eggert ’25, Hemlock Stanier ’25, and Valeriya Woodard ’25.
The weekend concluded Saturday evening with Walk A Mile In Her Shoes. Woodard led the walk tracing the historic route from the campus to the Renfrow Home at 411 1st Ave., giving the community a chance to experience Renfrow Smith’s daily journey to and from school.
“Recognizing, honoring, and emulating Mrs. Renfrow Smith’s clear-eyed view of our challenges and her belief that we can do better is the call of this day, of this building, of this College,” Harris said at the dedication. “Today and everyday going forward in perpetuity will be the intentional sharing of Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith’s story and the purposeful creation of opportunities to learn from her example.”
— by Jeremy Shapiro