Four remarkable Iowans were inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.

Since 1995, Iowans have been inducted into the African American Hall of Fame for their contributions to their communities and the state of Iowa. The 2024 class was inducted on Saturday.

They are:

Celeste M. Lawson

Celeste Lawson, the daughter of Gary Lawson, the founder of the Iowa African American Hall of Fame, is recognized for her 30-plus years of uplifting Black voices and awareness in Des Moines and throughout the state.

In April of this year, Lawson was recognized for her service and was inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame for her advocacy and push for recognition of Juneteenth and metastatic breast cancer.

From 1990 to 2015, Lawson volunteered with Iowa Juneteenth Observance, which her father founded in 1990, helping establish Juneteenth celebrations throughout Iowa. She also helped start the Iowa Juneteenth Observance exhibit at the State Historical Museum of Iowa and placed “Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom” in public libraries, middle and junior high schools in all 99 counties.

As a result of her work, Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002 signed and declared the third Saturday in June as Juneteenth National Freedom Day in Iowa. Iowa was the seventh state to make Juneteenth an official state holiday.

In 2019, Lawson’s mother, Lois Lawson, died from metastatic breast cancer. Lawson worked to raise awareness for the disease, and, in 2020, Gov. Kim Reynolds declared Oct. 13 to be recognized as Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Iowa.

Edith Renfrow Smith

Edith Renfrow Smith is Grinnell College’s first African American alumna.

The Renfrow family was one of few African American families in Grinnell while Renfrow Smith was growing up. According to a Grinnell College report, she is the granddaughter of an escaped slave who established himself in Grinnell as a barber and was the only one of six children to stay there for college. She graduated in 1937 with a major in psychology and minors in economics and history.

After graduation, Renfrow Smith worked at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), the University of Chicago, the state of Illinois, and the city of Chicago and was a public school teacher for over 20 years.

The Smith Gallery at Grinnell College is named after her, and the Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women’s Library was dedicated in 2019 in her honor in the Black Cultural Center on campus. She is the namesake of the soon-to-be-completed Renfrow Hall.

She currently resides in Chicago and recently celebrated her 110th birthday on July 14.

Barbara Woods

For over 30 years Barbara Woods worked with Iowa State Extension and Outreach as the special projects manager and was an adjunct professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University.

Woods received her doctorate in home economics from Iowa State in 1981 and is credited with bringing county extension offices “into the computer age,” according to the American Association of University Women branch in Ames.

She received the Career Achievement in Outreach Award from the College of Human Sciences in 2017, the Distinguished Service Award from the Iowa affiliate of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2016, as well as one from ISU Extension and Outreach in 2011.

Woods retired from the university in 2023.

Bridget Saffold

Bridget Saffold, a registered nurse in Waterloo, formed the Focus on Diabetes, a Waterloo nonprofit that aims to promote awareness of diabetes.

Each year, she helps host Cedar Valley Focus on Diabetes, where doctors share research and treatment options for diabetes and also offers free screenings for diabetic patients, their families and the Cedar Valley community.

During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Saffold helped assemble Focus on Diabetes COVID-19 Assist, donating around 200 care packages to diabetes patients to help them stay safe at home. She was recognized by ABC for her efforts.

In 2021, she was inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame for her work in Waterloo for diabetes patients and raising awareness of the disease.

What is the Iowa African American Hall of Fame?

The Iowa African American Hall of Fame was founded in 1995 by the Connect Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Gary Lawson.

In 2023, the Connect Foundation transferred custodianship of the Hall of Fame to the Des Moines Urban Experience, run by Dwana Bradley. Bradley also is a chairperson for Iowa Juneteenth.

There have been over 70 inductees into the Hall of Fame, including Evelyn K. Davis, Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad and Rep. Ruth Anne Gaines.

Kyle Werner is a reporter for the Register. Reach him at kwerner@dmreg.com.