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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Neil Steinberg

‘Today is not the last day’

Edith Renfrow Smith turns 108 on Thursday and is as sharp as ever. She is the first Black person to graduate from Grinnell College, class of ‘37. Last October, the Iowa school named an art gallery after her. (Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times)

“Come right in,” says Edith Renfrow Smith, opening the door to her modest single-room apartment on North Sheridan Road. “Have a seat. How have you been?”

Curious about her. I tell her if turning 107 was a big deal, then turning 108 is also worth notice.

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