Spelman College to Honor Role Models at Ceremony

Local alumnae of Spelman College will honor former college President Johnnetta B. Cole, actress Esther Rolle and educator Betty Shabazz, posthumously, at an awards ceremony Saturday in West Hollywood.

“We want to remember wonderful people who have contributed . . . and served as role models,” said Marie Moore, spokeswoman for the National Alumnae Assn. of Spelman College, Hollywood / San Fernando Valley Chapter.

Cole was the first African American woman to serve as president of Spelman, a historically black college located in Atlanta. She retired in 1997. President Clinton appointed her this year to an 11-member commission on the celebration of women in history.

Rolle attended Spelman and has appeared in Broadway plays and in TV sitcoms including “Good Times” and “Maude.” She will appear in Maya Angelou’s film “Down in the Delta,” scheduled for release next month.

Each year local alumnae select two women to receive the “Sisters’ Award,” but this year there is a third--Shabazz.

Shabazz, the widow of Malcolm X, was an educator, scholar and community activist. She died last year of injuries suffered in a fire in her home. She had headed the office of institutional advancement at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.

The event, to be called “A Night to Remember,” will also raise scholarship money for Los Angeles students who attend Spelman. About a fourth of the students who attend Spelman are from California, Moore said. In January about 200 California students were unable to continue their studies because they lacked funds.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. at the Wyndham Bel Age Hotel, 1020 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood. For more information call Marie Moore (310) 208-7187, Ext. 720.