Black Alumni Reunion Speakers & Honorees

President's Medal of Honor 

Dorothy W. Ford

Dorothy W. Ford served as the coordinator of RISD’s Minority Affairs/Third World Office from 1973–2000. She advocated for students of color and principles of social equity and inclusion long before such ideas were adopted nationwide. Her commitment impacted the lives of generations of RISD students, particularly students of color, allowing them to thrive during and after their years at RISD.

Dorothy’s work built the foundation for RISD’s current Social Equity and Inclusion plan and other initiatives launched to support marginalized students, such as Project Thrive and the RISD First-Generation to College Pre-Orientation Program.

Owning our legacy preserves our future. A Conversation on Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch

Alison Croney Moses 06 FD, Moderator

A Boston based artist, Alison Croney Moses creates wooden objects that reach out to your senses—the smell of cedar, the color of honey or the deep blue sea, the round form that signifies safety and warmth, the gentle curve that beckons to be touched.

Born and raised in North Carolina (USA), by Guyanese parents, making clothing, food, furniture, and art is embedded in her memories of childhood. She carries these values and habits into adulthood and parenting—creating experiences, conversations, and educational programs that cultivate the current and next generation of artists and leaders in art and craft. Her work is in the collections at Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. She is a recipient of the 2023 Boston Artadia Award, the2022 USA Fellowship in Craft, and a finalist of the 2024 LOEWE FOUNDATION Craft Prize. Her work has been featured in American Craft Magazine Boston Art Review. She was recently named one of the 2023 WBUR 10 Makers. In the Fall of 2023, Alison’s first solo was reviewed in the Boston Globe. Alison holds an MA in Sustainable Business & Communities from Goddard College, and a BFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design.

Cheryl D. Miller 71 HD 22, Panelist

Dr. Cheryl D. Miller is recognized for her outsized influence within the graphic design profession to end the marginalization of BIPOC designers through her civil rights activism, industry exposé trade writing, research rigor, and archival vision. Miller is a national leader of minority rights, gender, race diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion advocacy in graphic design.

She is founder of the former Cheryl D. Miller Design, Inc., NYC, a social impact design firm; she is a designer, author, educator, trade writer for PRINT Magazine and Communication Arts Magazine, and theologian. She is a decolonizing design historian. Dr. Miller has an MS in Communications Design from Pratt Institute and a BFA in Graphic Design from Maryland Institute College of Art, completed Foundation Studies at Rhode Island School of Design, and has a Doctor of Humane Letters from: Vermont College of Fine Arts, 2020 and a Doctor of Fine Arts from MICA-The Maryland Institute College of Art 2022, The RISD-Rhode Island School of Design 2022, The PRATT Institute 2023 and a MDiv from Union Theological Seminary. In 2021 she was an AIGA Medalist “Expanding Access,” a Cooper Hewitt “Design Visionary” awardee, an Honorary IBM Design Scholar, “Eminent Luminary and The One Club Creative Hall of Fame Inductee 2022.”

A recipient of countless awards, she is dedicated to visual arts advancement. The Cheryl D. Miller Collection at Stanford University is her legacy professional firm’s archive, including her memoir research and manuscripts. The collection features D&I initiatives, corporate communications developed for Fortune 500 corporations, and corporate communications for national African American organizations, developed post- Civil Rights Era, 1974–1994. She is further archiving, The History of Black Graphic Design in North America, collected at both Stanford University and The Herb Lubalin Center, Cooper Union.

She is an activist, decolonizing graphic design professor, lecturer, and revisionist historian. She is Professor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Communication Design, Art Center College of Design, Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Design at the University of Texas–Austin, E.W. Doty Fellow 2021, and adjunct Lecturer professor at Howard University. She is a former member of both the Board of Trustees of Vermont College of Fine Arts and the President’s Global Advisory Board of Maryland Institute College of Art. She is Maryland Institute College of Art’s 2021 William O. Steinzmetz Designer in Residence Scholar.

Sylvia Rodriguez 23 IL / MAT 24 TLAD, Panelist

Sylvia Rodriguez is an artist, educator, writer, activist, and recent Ted Talk speaker in the Teaching and Learning in Art and Design (TLAD) department at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). As a recipient of a BFA from RISD’s undergraduate illustration program with a concentration in theory and history of art and design (THAD), her work in children’s media illustration centers children of diverse identities, in particular children with disabilities, races, and families. She believes in educational and social reform, equity, and accessibility for all, all of which inform her teaching practices, which are rooted in culturally responsive art education research. She seeks to connect past and contemporary art histories to inform learners that art does not exist in a vacuum, and that all art is political.

Kelly Walters MFA GD 15, Panelist

Kelly Walters is the Director of the BFA Communication Design program and an Assistant Professor of Communication Design at Parsons School of Design. As an interdisciplinary designer and research scholar, her work engages with histories of Black American print publishing, material culture and archival practice. She explores these themes in her studio practice Bright Polka Dot, and looks closely at the impact of colonization on the formation of the Black image in design. In 2021, Kelly was selected as a Graham Foundation award recipient for her curated exhibition With a Cast of Colored Stars, which highlighted the evolution of racialized iconography in early 20th century Black American popular entertainment. This research currently informs her doctoral studies in the Media, Culture and Communication program at New York University.

Her publications include Black, Brown + Latinx Design Educators: Conversations on Design and Race and the award-winning co-edited anthology The Black Experience in Design: Identity, Expression & Reflection. From 2015–2016, she was an inaugural AICAD Postgraduate Teaching Fellow at California College of the Arts. Kelly has previously taught at RISD, University of Bridgeport, University of Connecticut, and University Arts London: Central Saint Martins. She holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a dual BFA Communication Design and BA Communication Sciences from the University of Connecticut.

RISD Black Biennial Closing Reception 

Betty Gillis Robinson

RISD Class of 1974
BFA Art Education

Betty Gillis Robinson began her studies at RISD in 1970, arriving on campus from Hempstead, Long Island, New York.

In her recollections, Gillis Robinson was in awe and somewhat intimidated when she arrived. She quickly adapted, finding her comfort zone and making friends, mainly but not exclusively, with other black freshmen and students. She tried to fit in with the larger, mostly white campus life, but she gravitated to the people and activities where she felt comfortable and the most welcome and accepted. Brown University had a black student union, and she also made great friends there.

She soon settled her focus on illustration and painting. She developed a passion for fashion illustration and fondly remembers her excitement in taking Robert Reid's classes each year. However, she was concerned about securing employment after graduation and concentrated in Art Education during her senior year.

Gillis Robinson completed student teaching for RISD in New York. Although she completed her degree requirements, she found she was no longer interested in teaching upon returning to Providence. Betty resumed painting and freelance work and maintained a part-time job with the RI Attorney General. A fresh start in Maryland offered her a pivotal career change. She eventually took a position with the US Department of Labor and began a career in Civil Rights as a mediator, investigator, and Equal Employment Opportunity Director, a position she held for almost 30 years. Her work took her across the country, including a one-year appointment as an Executive Assistant with Civil Rights pioneer Dr. Dorothy Height.

Always creative at heart, Gillis Robinson discovered a love of interior design and decorating. After an apprenticeship, she retired from the federal government and formed a successful interior design company, Artistic Interiors and Beyond, LLC, which she ran for seven years. After her parents' passing, she decided to accept a position with Local Motors Industries, designers of the first 3D-printed electric autonomous vehicles.

Throughout her career journey, Gillis Robinson maintained a growing art collection and has devoted time and interest to various gallery, design and art events. She has two sons, Blair and Brandon, and has officially and happily retired after the arrival of her grandchildren. She and her husband of 30 years, Fred, lead a full and joyful life in National Harbor, Maryland. She remains thankful for the foundation laid by RISD. The inspiration and creative spirit she found at RISD stayed with her in all that she has chosen to do.

Betty Gillis Robinson’s biography has been adapted from a May 2024 submission she made to the RISD alumni website in honor of her 50-year reunion.

Tony Johnson

RISD Class of 1993
BFA Sculpture
RISD Faculty 1999–Present
Associate Dean Student Social Equity & Inclusion

Tony Johnson is an “artivist” (artist-activist) who bridges the realms of creative endeavor, equity and educational policy. At RISD he provides strategic leadership in realizing an environment where advancing inclusion and equity are central to the student experience and where artists and designers develop personally and socioculturally in preparation to enter today’s global contexts.

Johnson’s previous positions at RISD include assistant dean of student affairs, director of Intercultural Student Engagement and admissions officer specializing in the recruitment of underrepresented communities. In addition to working with arts institutions, Johnson serves on regional and national committees and boards dedicated to promoting cultural understanding, systemic reform and human justice. Johnson is also chair emeritus of RISD’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Series. As chair, he facilitated a vision and plan for sustainable alliances between arts institutions and justice leaders, including Angela Davis, Harry Belafonte, Marian Wright Edelman, Danny Glover, Ambassador Andrew Young, and Emory Douglas.

In his twenty-plus years of involvement in the performing arts, Johnson has performed and collaborated with Grammy, Dove, and Stellar award-winning recording artists and respected theater companies. Ultimately, he seeks to leverage the universal powers of visual art, music, and theater to build communities of understanding and peace.

Johnson holds a BFA from RISD and an MS the University of Rhode Island in Human Development and Family Studies with a concentration in college student personnel. A Philadelphia native, he is married to Caribbean fine artist and RISD Painting alum Monique Rolle-Johnson and the father of a young-adult drummer.

Cynthia Meeks

RISD Class of 1974
BFA Art Education
MFA 1979

For Providence native Cindy Meeks, RISD was the only art school she wanted to attend. Coming from a lineage of women who were seamstresses, Meeks' love for constructing clothing led her to her natural next step—clothing design. Her big break came in the mid-1960s as a seventh grader when she was asked to design African-inspired clothing for a store on the East Side of Providence. In just a few years, she was designing for an international clothing store chain, and her work was included in their international catalog.

A RISD graduate, Carole Moses Harman 65 PT/MAE 69, encouraged Meeks to take the summer fashion program for 11–12 graders. In 1970, RISD accepted Meeks on a full scholarship, and she embraced it.

Meeks expressed she only sometimes felt welcome in the fashion department. In her Junior year, she received an F after sharing her reflections on Apartheid in South Africa. After receiving an F for her conduct, she was told to take a year off. She went to Parsons for a year, where they wanted her to stay. Meeks still saw RISD as the best for her and returned the next year.

Despite the obstacles, Meeks persevered and became among the first Blacks at RISD to receive a Master's degree in Art Education, where she took studio courses in fashion. In addition, Meeks went on to teach in RISD's Continuing Education program for 20 years, writing 18 curriculums, including "Young Fashion Designers and Kids style for 7–11 graders.

After receiving a BFA and MAE from the Rhode Island School of Design, Meeks felt that as an artist, she could combine her training and her love for anthropology into her art. Her research into the traditions of tribal people indigenous to the New England Area and the enslaved people that were bought or migrated here are prevalent inspirations in her work. Just as the two groups of people intermarried, the integration of colors and patterns is a catalyst for her pieces.

Today, her work combines the beauty of the emotions and art of both cultures and reflects the marriage of the two through an expression of cultural differences and similarities. Passionate cultural beliefs are portrayed through her pieces, and both cultures' symbols, rituals, and practices are experienced.

A. Odell Richardson

RISD Class of 1979
BFA Architecture

A. “Odell” Richardson arrived at RISD in 1975, a successful graduate of the ABC (A Better Chance) Program, in Concord, NH. Originally from Pittsburgh, Richardson discovered his artistic passion during a visit to a drug rehab center, at the beginning of his freshman high-school year. Interested in pursuing a career in Architecture, Odell learned, in detail, the process of fine art drawing, painting, and inking. Herd Smith, an accomplished Artist, recovering alcoholic and Counselor, dedicated 10 hours per week, for 2 years instructing Richardson in the rudiments of anatomy, shading, structure and perspective, utilizing, almost exclusively, a #2 pencil. Discovering the existence of the Rhode Island School of Design during a visit to Providence, it became the first choice for attending college to pursue a degree in Architecture.

Accepted to RISD, Richardson didn’t receive any financial support and consequently, arrived on campus with “zero” funding. With the blessing of an “Angel” who provided a multi-year scholarship from the AIA, in Washington D.C., Richardson was able to immerse in the RISD experience in its totality. The initial years at RISD presented many challenges, both in school and in life, that saw Richardson at a crossroads during his 3rd year. Racial, social and institutional strife, while subtle at most times, reared its collective head during this time and led to meetings with the school’s administration, to discuss the plight of minority students at the institution. Subsequent to the events of the initial meeting, Richardson was elected President of the Fine Arts Society, in his senior year.

Prior to the start of that year, Richardson moved to rename the organization, rewrite the by-laws and institute a change for the organization to become more inclusive of all ethnicities attending RISD. Third World Coalition of Artists (TWCA) was established in the fall of 1978 and positioned the student-led organization into the center of student life on the RISD campus.

A. Odell Richardson graduated in the spring of 1979 with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Architecture.

Mahler Ryder

RISD Faculty 1969–1992

Mahler B. Ryder, Jr. was a faculty member in the Illustration Department of the Rhode Island School of Design from 1969-1992. His work spanned many genres, from illustration and graphic design to painting and sculpture. By the end of his life, he was best known for his assemblage and collage work based on African American history and music. A jazz pianist, Ryder’s later work was devoted to musicians and composers such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and George Benson.

His career included being first secretary of the Studio Museum, a one-man show at the Whitney, countless exhibitions and awards—both nationally and internationally. His Pugilist Series was exhibited in the World Trade Centers in New York as part of the 1984 Olympic Games. He is featured in Samella Lewis’s African American Art and Artists and was included in the Smithsonian’s Seeing Jazz: Artists and Writers on Jazz.

He also donated large amounts of time to the local community by helping kids do art projects at the Providence Children’s Museum and the Providence Public Library. He also spearheaded the effort to locate and create a monument for the grave of artist Edward Bannister in the North Burial Ground in Providence.

It was as an educator that Ryder perhaps made the greatest difference. Having grown up in the Jim Crow era and raised in a household with his plantation-born, illiterate, former sharecropper grandparents, he was acutely attuned to the ways race and economic class disadvantaged some people in the United States. He repeatedly called for RISD to recruit more BIPOC students and for increased support for lower income students. He also fought to diversify the RISD faculty. In addition to championing the hiring of people of color, he also wanted RISD to hire more female professors. This might not seem like much today but remember that it wasn’t until 1974 that women had the right to open a bank account on their own (without the signature of their husbands). He was, in many ways, ahead of his time.

Truthfully, his efforts were not always met with open arms by the RISD administration. But he never wavered in his work. He understood that a strong RISD – a RISD that was going to be able to educate the coming generations of artists and designers – had to become more diverse and inclusive. He would be very proud of the ways RISD has changed over the decades since he marched with his picket signs up and down Benefit Street. He would be thrilled at the institution’s decision to hire President Crystal Williams. He would relish in the fact that there are so many more professors of all races/ethnicities and genders teaching an incredibly diverse student body. And he would be honored to have his pioneering efforts acknowledged today.

Farewell Brunch

Dana Akins-Adeyemi

RISD Faculty

Dana “DeltaDana” Akins-Adeyemi is an accomplished educator, designer, and entrepreneur. She holds two degrees, BSME and MSME, and attended RISD’s Masters in ID program. Dana specializes in Human Centered Design, Equity in Design, and Innovation Strategy. As an Educator and Change Agent with over 3 decades of experience, she has worked in fortune 500 corporations (Polaroid, Johnson & Johnson, etc), Hi-Tech, municipalities, consumer products, Higher education, and K-12.

Dana teaches at RISD where she has held several roles: Critic Professor of Industrial Design; Principle Design, Innovation & Engineering Strategist, and Advisor for Strategic Partnerships. She teaches User Experience and Human Centered Design at The University of North Texas. She also develops and teaches workshops on Design and Equity for various clients. Dana is the founder of the Attleboro Public Schools Engineering & Product Design program and served as a Special Employee for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Education.

In private practice, she is the founder/CEO of DeltaDana Designs & Entertainment for nearly 25 years. She is also a partner at redshift, a business consultancy agency that helps teams solve complex challenges.

Oge Mora

Class of 2016
BFA Illustration

Oge Mora 16 IL is a collage artist and storyteller. Her picture book, Thank You, Omu!, was a Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, and Ezra Jack Keats Book Award recipient. Her second book, Saturday won the 2020 Boston Globe—Horn Book Picture Book Award. Oge’s artwork has been applauded by The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Boston Globe. She is also a 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Lister in Arts & Style.

Oge grew up in Columbus, Ohio but resides in Providence, RI. She is a fan of all things colorful, patterned, or collaged, and enjoys creating warm stories that celebrate people coming together.

Kevin Wilson

Class of 1981
BFA Illustration

Kevin James Wilson 81 IL is an artist from Indianapolis. God has instilled a passion within him that he has used every day of his life and that is to create art. His favorite medium is drawing with Prismacolor Pencils.

Wilson attended the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design on a full scholarship.While there, he drew and presented a portrait to Muhammad Ali for the New Future Foundation and the International Year of the Child. At 19 he was the youngest artist ever admitted to the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit in New York City in its 97-year history. During Kevin’s time at Rhode Island School of Design he served on the Admissions Committee as a student representative for 2 years, Graduation Honors Committee, Chairman of Entertainment on the Student Board and was the President of the Third World Coalition of Artists during his Junior year. Kevin is eternally grateful for those experiences that he was awarded because this helped to shape and mold him into the artist that he is today.

Wilson’s work has been shown in his hometown of Indianapolis to Las Vegas including the murals he created in the world’s largest children’s museum in Indianapolis. In Las Vegas, from 1999 until 2001 his work was mainly shown in Caesars Palace. Upon returning to Indy, his focus turned to fine arts. Shows such as the prestigious Hoosier Salon, Black Creativity at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, Indiana Artist Club exhibitions and The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields are among some of the juried shows where his artwork has been accepted. Kevin’s work was recently exhibited in Saks Fifth Avenue Gallery for the months February, March and July in 2021.

As a college professor of graphic design, Wilson taught at International Business College in Indianapolis. This is a position he held for 25 years. He also taught drawing and airbrush at The Indianapolis Art Center for 12 years.

Acknowledgements

In addition to our wonderful panelists, speakers and honorees listed above, we extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who participated, supported and gave of their time and talent to create a memorable weekend for us all. 

We gratefully acknowledge the following contributions:

Jon Key 13 GD for our Black Alumni Reunion graphic identity
Jacques Bidon for the beautiful gifts presented to our honorees
DJ Aarin Clemons for the music at our Family Reunion Cookout
Emcee Lady J for leading the excitement at our Family Reunion Cookout
Frog & Toad for the Black Alumni Reunion tee shirts
Fran Scott for images of Dot Ford and late 70’s early 80’s
Ernie Lewis for the Betty Robinson and Cindy Meeks photography portraits early 70’s
Distinguish Caterers for the Black Biennial Reception catered event
Four/29 RISD Black Alumni Family Reunion & Cookout Caterer
Amadi Williams, Melanie Ferdinand-King, Isaiah Raines Black Biennial Curators
BAAD Black Artist & Designers
Margot Nishimura Fleet Library
Jen Leise Center for Arts & Language Black Biennial Catalogs
Chris Roberts RISD Scholar / RISD Black Alumni Oral Histories Interviewer
Peter O'Neil Dot Ford Oral History Videographer
Angel Sweeny Ocean Waring RISD Black Alumni Oral Histories Videographers
Dee Speaks RISD Black Alumni Reunion Photographer

We would also like to thank our RISD Black Alumni Reunion Advisory Board for their dedication to making our weekend a success. 

Ashleigh Axios 08 GD, RISD Board of Trustees
Vincent Brathwaite 05 ID, Black Alumni Affinity Group Chair
Jess Brown MID 09
Jevon Brown 23 TX
Gabrielle Bullock 84 AR, RISD Board of Trustees
Tiffany Cooper 12 FAV*
Karen Harris 86 IL P 18 P 13*
Judith Michelle Hill 77 TX
Tony Johnson 93 SC
Jarrett Key MFA 20 PT, Co-Chair, Alumni Association Awards Committee
Jon Key 13 GD, Co-Chair, Alumni Association Awards Committee
Rey Londres 22 PH
Cheryl D. Miller 71 HD 22
Alison Croney Moses 06 FD
Rene Payne 83 GD, Black Alumni Reunion Advisory Board Chair
A. Odell Richardson 79 AR
Francesca Scott 82 PH*
Keita Turner 91 AP

*RISD Black Alumni Affinity Group

And, we send gratitude to our campus partners in the President's Office, Alumni + Family Relations, Institutional Advancement, IA Communications and IA Events, Strategic Initiatives Team (SIT), RISD Museum, Facilities Operations and Catering for their unwavering support. Including, but not limited to:

Institutional Advancement

Deb Dormody, Affinity Groups & Programs Officer, Alumni + Family Relations
Dallas Pride, Executive Director, Alumni + Family Relations
Claire Robinson, Director, Special Events

RISD Museum

Ariane Porter, Senior Membership Engagement Specialist
Kajette Solomon, Museum SEI Specialist