In 1893, upon graduation from Stanton School in Jacksonville, Florida, Eartha White moved to New York City for a brief period. A lyric soprano, she sang in the first African American opera company in the United States under the direction of J. Rosamond Johnson, brother of James Weldon Johnson. The Johnson brothers were also from Jacksonville and would later compose the hymn “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”

Upon her return to Jacksonville, Eartha White displayed considerable business acumen, and she owned and operated several successful businesses. Her versatility and determination enabled her to become a licensed real estate broker, the first woman employee of the Afro-American Life Insurance Company in Jacksonville, and a charter member of both the National Negro Business League and Jacksonville Business League. Thanks to her numerous businesses and astute real estate transactions, it is estimated that she accumulated over one million dollars in assets throughout her lifetime. She used most of her profits to finance her humanitarian works and consequently struggled financially throughout her life.

In her later years, Eartha White became an influential force in Jacksonville’s political and humanitarian arenas. Among many other projects, she established and grew the Clara White Mission, which began as a soup kitchen, and expanded during the Great Depression to be a larger facility to feed, shelter, and counsel the homeless.

Eartha White was honored many times by educational institutions, civic clubs, government agencies, business groups and fraternal organizations for her leadership and tireless service. She was nicknamed by those who knew her as “The Angel of Mercy.”

Dr. Cole matriculated at age 15 at Fisk University, then transferred to Oberlin College to study sociology (B.A., 1957) and anthropology at Northwestern University (M.A., 1959; Ph.D., 1967).

After decades of service as a renowned professor of anthropology who helped found several departments of African American studies at prestigious universities across the United States, in 1987 Dr. Cole became the seventh president of Spelman College, the oldest African American women's college in the United States. She was committed to making the school a center for scholarship for African American women. Calling herself "Sister President," she became known as a strong advocate for the liberal arts curriculum in a changing society.

In 2002, Dr. Cole became the president of Bennett College in North Carolina, the only other HBCU dedicated to educating Black women. From 2009 to 2017, Dr. Cole was director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art in Washington, D.C. She remains an award-winning, engaged member of the national and international cultural and educational communities.