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It is with an extremely heavy and deeply sad heart that I say goodbye to
Linda Bates Parker. She was a fellow warrior in our fight to help
African-Americans in the workplace. She was a hero, the founder and president of
Black Career Women. More than that, she was a very good friend.
I will always remember Linda's trips to New York. When she came here, she
gathered some of the city's powerhouse and fun-loving professional
women together for lunch or brunch. And Linda did know everyone. On those
wonderful occasions, we ate, talked, laughed and had some good, fun
times. Once she even flew her mother to New York to meet with us. Her
mom was an elegant, great lady. So immediately, we could see where Linda
got her spirit from.
I first met Linda when she invited me to speak at one of BCW's events and
we immediately hit it off. Through the years, she would call to invite me to
many of the organization's career workshops and I would gladly fly off to Cincinnati.
Every so often in the past years, Linda would call and say "Can you
come speak at one of BCW's programs? We need some good humor." It
never failed that those speaking engagements for BCW were some of the best
in my life.
Linda and I would spend a lot of time on the phone and always had a great
talks. We talked about everything concerning the work issues of Black
women. We talked about our web sites and decided there was room for both. We talked about her family. She was
so proud of her children and grandchildren. I remember her sending
pictures of Anyé, her granddaughter in her first ballet performances. She was very proud of
that little one's accomplishments.
Linda was the consummate networker. As God would make it possible, I still
have a 2008 email (it was during the time just before she became sick) from her asking me to meet and network with a Black
woman who was new to New York City and needed some contacts. And even
though AOL clears out my emails on a regular basis, that one was still
left. I am so thankful to have it. It's like a little piece of Linda is
still here with us.
It's
so hard to say goodbye to such a wonderful person. She did so much in her
life, particularly for working women and students. I hope that people
will appreciate her enormous contributions.
To Breland, Brandon, Robbin, Isaiah and Anyé, my deepest and heartfelt
sympathy. She loved you all dearly. To the women of BCW, be grateful that
Linda came to touch all of our lives.
Below is the tribute to her that appears on BCW's site:
Linda Bates
Parker, visionary, entrepreneur, author, trailblazer, and humanitarian
died on December 10 after an eight month battle with cancer. She was 66.
For
nearly 45 years, Linda Bates Parker devoted her life to leadership and
empowering others. From humble beginnings, she has forged an impressive
career of professional accomplishments and civic contributions, earning
credibility locally, nationally and internationally. Born and raised in
the West End of Cincinnati, Ohio, Linda’s passion for education and
ambitious goals for the future led her to the University of Dayton as the
recipient of a 4-year scholarship from the Yeiser Foundation. She
continued her educational pursuits with a M.A. from the University of
Cincinnati and graduated from Harvard University’s Management
Development Program and Leadership Cincinnati.
Linda experienced many firsts
in her life. She was the first Black woman hired in Market Research at
Procter & Gamble. She also served as a Training Coordinator for
Federated Department Stores (now Macy’s) before moving into higher
education where she has remained for most of her professional life. Linda
was the first Black woman to serve as Associate Vice Provost for Student
Affairs at the University of Cincinnati and achieved immeasurable success
as the Director of the Career Development Center, using her voice to
empower both students and staff. Because of her many contributions to
career development, the University will rename the Career Development
Resource Center in her honor.
Linda is noted for her
“long-lasting and life-changing” style of teaching and as someone who
“is driven by the satisfaction of seeing her students achieve their
goals.” As such, she established the Linda Bates Parker Scholarship to
help financially strapped African American students remain in college. She
created the Racial Awareness Program to provide a forum for students to
discuss race relation issues in the city, the country and around the
world.
Linda was selected as a Distinguished
Faculty Fellow for her efforts to help develop some of UC’s first
distance learning courses. She taught her popular Managing Diversity
classes for 17 years at the university. Expanding the curriculum, Linda
designed and implemented an annual diversity institute, training forum
attracting hundreds of employers from major U.S. corporations.
Nationally known and recognized,
Linda is highly revered for her 30+ year commitment to the professional
development of women with the creation of Black Career Women, a national
organization that serves as a nucleus of support to identify and address
the critical needs of women in the workforce as they relate to their
career mobility and achievement. She established the Black Women Achieving
Against the Odds awards to recognize women nationally who had achieved
Vice Presidential status in US Corporations. Linda envisioned, created and
presented “Can We Talk?” a national diversity forum addressing
relationships among black women, white women and other women of color in
today’s workplace. In addition, she co-founded EXECUCIRCLE, an
international professional development conference, held in Africa, the
Caribbean and South America, encouraging African Americans to become more
globally relevant and more culturally literate. In her 14-year leadership
of EXECUCIRCLE, Linda met and became affiliated with 3 heads of state and
helped hundreds of African Americans understand the impact of US public
policy on people of the African Diaspora around the world. Although her
primary focus was on women, Linda created and implemented the Summer
Incentive Program. The program was designed to motivate academically able,
but under-achieving Black male youth in Cincinnati, to commit to their
education and become “the best of their kind.” She successfully
operated this program for eight years.
A columnist for the national Black
Collegian Magazine for 20 years, Linda also authored Career Portfolio, a
college textbook now in its 5th edition, and served as lead researcher for
a 3-year study on “College to Career: Transition of Black College
Graduates” involving 13 U.S. colleges and universities.
Linda was regularly sought as a
speaker on women’s issues and as a diversity consultant including
Leadership Cincinnati’s annual Diversity Weekend and the YWCA’s Rising
Stars Round Table. She has served on the Boards of Cincinnati Red Cross,
WCET, the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission and as a celebrity
spokesperson for Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Program.
Linda’s contributions have not gone
unnoticed as she was the recipient of numerous awards and honors: Dollar
and Sense Magazine‘s Top 100 Black Business & Professional Women in
the United States, Cincinnati Enquirer’s Woman of the Year, the YWCA
Career Women of Achievement, the Girl Scout’s Women of Distinction, and
the “Champion of Diversity – 2000” award from Working Mother
Magazine. In 2004, Linda was the recipient of the Global Citizen Award and
was inducted into the International Hall of Fame by the Greater Cincinnati
Chamber of Commerce. She was also inducted into the National Association
of Colleges and Employers Academy of Fellows in 2005 for a career of
outstanding contributions in her field. And, in the 2007, she was honored
by the University of Cincinnati’s African American Alumni Association
with the Onyx & Ruby Trailblazer Award for her outstanding university
and community contributions.
Linda is survived by her spouse, Breland
Parker, her daughter Robbin Parker-Shabazz, son Brandon (Taisha) Parker
and two grand children, Isaiah and Anyé, Shabazz.
Please keep the Linda Bates Parker
Scholarship Fund alive. For more information, please write to the Linda
Bates Parker Scholarship Fund, c/o Dr. Bluezette Marshall, University of
Cincinnati Foundation, P. O. Box 19970, Cincinnati, OH 45219-0970 or visit
the UC Foundation website, http://www.uc.edu/sas/diversity/lbpscholarship.html
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