Now comes the story of a pioneering educator who dreamed of providing a college education for underserved African-Americans in the Pacific Northwest, and made that dream a reality when she founded Evergreen State College in Tacoma.
This is the Evergreen State College, Tacoma, the college she founded.
Dr. Maxine Mimms, mother, educator, mentor to hundreds, is 95 years old. She has lived long enough to see the college she founded more than 50 years ago educate untold numbers of African-American, helping them realize their own dreams on Tacoma’s Hilltop.
Turns out this amazing woman and I have an unlikely connection.
To spend time with Doctor Maxine Mimms is to be among an entourage of fans, truly a woman in full.
“My maiden name is B-U-I-E, Buie, and the married name is M-I-M-M-S, Mimms,” she said. “I like to be able to spell my own name — ownership, ode to who I am.”
Who she is began nearly 96 years ago in a place special to me: Newport News, Virginia.
“You ended up here, but you grew up, incredibly, in my hometown,” Dr. Mimms was told.