Perspectives in AE—“A feminist is a feminist”: The continued activism of Dr. Juanita Johnson‐Bailey

Abstract

After 20 years I was back in school faced with an assignment to research an adult education scholar, leader, or practitioner. After a quick review of the list we were provided I was drawn to Dr. Johnson‐Bailey as the focus of my paper primarily because our lives paralleled in so many ways. She was on staff at my Alma Mater, The University of Georgia. We were both raised in military families with humble southern roots, we have both worked as federal employees, we were both re‐entry students going through graduate school while still raising a family and we are both graduates of the University of Georgia in the 90's‐‐me from the Master's in Social Work program and her from the Adult Education Program. Her research and books accurately reflect similar challenges I faced as an African American student in a predominantly white higher education institution. As we spoke, she surprised me when she repeated a quote that her mother often told her because my father also frequently told me that “Education is the one thing that no one can take away from you”. That quote has now been frequently repeated to my children and has always stuck in my mind and likely contributed to my lifelong learning mindset. I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Johnson‐Bailey on October 12, 2012, and am pleased to share the perspectives I learned about this Adult Education leader scholar forNew Horizons.