“Rejection is a fabulous teacher,” the 2011 Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Visiting Professor told more than 200 people at Shorter Community A.M.E Church on Tuesday as they celebrated the legacy of Noel—the late professor, activist and humanitarian.
Judi Hampton, president of Judi Hampton Public Relations, was the featured speaker during the annual community event which showcased performances by the Metro State African Drumming Ensemble, the Metro State Choir and Community Choir. Between the two choirs, more than 76 singers came together to perform “Every Time I Feel the Spirit,” arranged by William Dawson.
Hampton explained how she turned her ability to overcome the rejection she experienced during the Cvil Rights Movement into a successful public relations career lasting more than two decades.
The experience that set the theme for her career occurred while she was president of her class at a predominantly white high school in St. Louis. While attempting to eat at a segregated restaurant with some of her classmates, Hampton, specifically, was denied access because of the color of her skin. “This is ignorant,” she remembers saying. “We will go eat where we are welcome.”
In line with the professorship’s theme for this year, “Inclusive Excellence: A Foundation for the 21st Century,” Hampton emphasized that “the Civil Rights Movement was a human rights movement.”
During her college years, she went on to train teachers in a freedom school and coordinate voter registration for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1969, she was an affirmative-action hire for the Mobile Corporation, where she spent the next 17 years in the public affairs department as public affairs officer, spokesperson, and director of consumer affairs. Conflict resolution was part of the job when she headed to oil spill sites to talk with the local community.
In 1999, when her brother died, Hampton learned that she and her sister had inherited BlackSide, Inc., producer of Eyes on the Prize. A new area for her, she was “about ready to put the idea on the shelf and say forget about it,” when she realized she needed to “flip my mindset” and look at the film industry differently.
Hampton, who sprinkled comments about her multiple marriages throughout her presentation, advised the crowd to “never lose a sense of humor, keep on learning and don’t lose your passion.”
They were common threads of advice she also delivered on campus to a variety of audiences including middle school students, Metro State classes and the campus community during the professorship Feb. 28 - March 2.
Honoring Noel at the community event, Metro State President Stephen Jordan said she was a “unique woman who demonstrates the power a single person can have.”
During closing comments, Noel’s son Edmond “Buddy“ Noel said the professorship was “a mixed blessing” because of how close the events are held in relation to the anniversary of his mother’s Feb. 4, 2008 passing, saying it was the time they lost her and the time they remember her. Noel’s daughter Angela Noel and her grandson Peter Noel were also present at the event.
Also during the evening, distinguished leaders in the communications field in Colorado were honored. Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology Allison Cotton and Interim Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies Ali Thobhani asked the following leaders to stand in the audience while reading their contributions to their respective industries. The honorees included:
Tamara Banks, veteran radio and television journalist
donnie l. betts ('87), producer/director, no credits production
Ashara Ekundayo ('94), owner/creative consultant, BluBlak Media
Rosalind "Bee" Harris, owner/publisher, Denver Urban
Spectrum newspaper
Bertha Lynn, anchorwoman, 7News
Buddy Noel said to the honorees, “You all knew my mother. She would have said she’s so proud of you.”
He added, “The Noel family is part of the Metro State family. We are proud to be a part of the Metro State family. We are loyal.”
In a nod to another professorship on campus, he also asked the audience to join him in attending the Richard T. Castro Distinguished Visiting Professorship next year.
See photo slideshow.
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