A groundbreaker: Remembering Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith `37

At the 2024 dedication ceremony of Renfrow Hall, the Grinnell College residence hall named in honor of her, Mrs. Edith Renfrow Smith `37 requested that “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often called the Black National Anthem, be sung. During the performance, a then 110-year-old Smith stood up and looked out at the crowd of around...