Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50 by Michael Cunningham & Connie Briscoe

Author:Michael Cunningham & Connie Briscoe [CUNNINGHAM, MICHAEL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780316075701
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2009-05-29T16:00:00+00:00

Louise Rice ♦ 64

NATIONAL PRESIDENT, DELTA SIGMA THETA SORORITY, INC,; RETIRED COLLEGE PROFESSOR

Benjamin Mays, president of Morehouse College, is credited with saying that “the tragedy of life does not lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy of life lies in having no goal to reach.” I’ve used that quote for inspiration over the years. I always felt that I was limited only by the boundaries I set for myself. If it could be done, I could do it.

My father and mother separated when I was two, but my mother always pushed me to excel. Although she was a cook with only a sixth grade education, she set high standards for me and taught me that I had no limitations. When I told her I wanted to go to Tuskegee Institute, she said, “I’m willing to send you where you want to go, if you’re willing to do the work.”

Education is important to me. I feel that people who have knowledge and skills are in a better position to improve their lives. I got my PhD because I thought that was the next step after a master’s, and I always wanted to be the best. I also knew my mother had a hard time because she had no degree or diploma. She was a smart woman, but she was a cook all of her life. She would tell me, “You don’t have to be a cook. I want you to have a profession.” In high school, my senior English instructor always said, “Reach for the skies.” I wanted to be a teacher because I thought that by being a teacher I could help others be all they wanted to be. You can reach a lot of people in the classroom.

My ninth grade high school homeroom teacher was one of my biggest inspirations, and we are in contact even today. I remember her teaching us what we should and should not do. The boys would hold our hands as they walked us to and from school, and Miss Johnson would look out the window of her classroom and point her finger at us.

I joined Delta Sigma Theta in 1961, when I was a student at Tuskegee, and I have been an active member ever since. When I went to Tuskegee, I didn’t know a lot about sororities. Someone told me the Deltas had the highest grade point averages and received the most awards. I liked the way they carried themselves and saw in them an extension of myself. So I decided to pledge.

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