Escaping Poverty Through Education with Dr. Madie Mosley

In our sixth episode, Nick Stonestreet, CEO of Ronald Blue Trust, and Dr. Michael Patterson, founder of Be a Peace Maker, host a powerful and personal interview with Dr. Madie Mosely, an educator who became the ninth First Lady of Florida A&M University and who is making a difference in poor communities. She tells the heartbreaking story of how the painful segregation experiences of her mother inspired her family to get out of poverty through education, with the result of her family members attaining over 100 professional degrees. She now works to give others the same access to educational opportunities that changed her life. 

Dr. Madie Mosley has worked in the fields of education, social work, counseling, research, coaching, and executive civic leadership for over 45 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology/social work, a masters in guidance and counseling (Florida A&M University), and a doctorate in interpersonal communication/organizational communication (Florida State University). 

She has served as an administrator and academician at all levels of the educational spectrum. Throughout her professional career, she has engaged in public service as a volunteer for drives and outreach programs. Dr. Mosley retired from her professional career after serving as the ninth First Lady of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) at her alma mater. She is a board member, mentor, civic leader, and founder of a non-profit charitable organization. However, her true joy in life is being a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

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The information in these podcasts is provided for general educational purposes only.  It is not intended as specific individual advice. The clients’ experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients and they are also not indicative of future performance or success. Opinions expressed may not be those of Ronald Blue Trust.

Trust and investment management accounts and services offered by Ronald Blue Trust, Inc. are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency, are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.

Transcript

- [Announcer] Welcome to the "Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. Let's bridge the gap between your faith and your finances. At Ronald Blue Trust, we apply biblical wisdom and technical expertise to help you make wise financial decisions. Our goal is to help you leave a lasting legacy. In this podcast you will hear inspiring stories, practical tips, and encouragement from the Ronald Blue Trust family with special guests along the way.

- Welcome to the "Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. The information in these podcasts is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not intended as specific individual advice. The client's experience may not be representative of the experience of other clients, and they are also not indicative of future performance or success. Opinions expressed may not be those of Ronald Blue Trust. In our sixth episode, Nick Stonestreet, CEO of Ronald Blue Trust and Dr. Michael Patterson, founder of Be a Peacemaker, host a powerful and personal interview in honor of women's history month with Dr. Madie Mosley, an educator who became the ninth first lady of Florida A&M University. She tells the heartbreaking of how the painful segregation experiences of her mother inspired her family to get out of poverty through education. With the result of her family members obtaining over 100 professional degrees. She now works to give others the same access to educational opportunities that changed her life. Let's listen in now.

- I'm Dr. Michael Patterson and I'm here with my buddy Nick Stonestreet.

- It's great to be here, Mike, thanks.

- How you doing Nick?

- I'm doing great, man, thank you.

- I know you had a busy week.

- A little bit, yeah, it's not over yet.

- It's not over yet.

- It's been like a week of Mondays, but we're gonna be okay.

- We're gonna be okay. Well, we are excited because we have another episode, as I said. And to all our listening audience, thank you so much for all your support. And today we have two very special guests who will be joining us on our podcast. I have my beautiful wife of 31 years, Shawn Patterson. So she's here with us. Hello, Shawn, you wanna say hi to everyone?

- Hi, everyone, so great to be with you for my first time.

- Yes, and you're amazing. I want everybody to know, I love my beautiful wife.

- Thank you.

- That's good, we got that on record.

- I love my beautiful husband.

- And also we have Dr. Madie Mosley, Dr. Madie Mosley is an expert in higher education, has been in the field for decades, and we are excited that we get to spend this time with you, Dr. Mosley. Thank you for being a part of our podcast today.

- Thank you, Dr. Mike, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Nick.

- Thank you. Dr. Madie. It's so great to have you here.

- Thank you.

- As a nation, we often seem to talk about poverty as if it impacts a small number of people, but today close to 50 million Americans are poor. And for the first time in more than 40 years, low income children constitute a majority of public school students in the US South. Education has been and is a way out of poverty, especially for minority students. Students with a college degree have fared far better, even during the last recession than those who either left school before graduation or earned only a high school diploma. So today we're gonna talk about how education can be a doorway out of poverty, and you have such a compelling story. Dr. Madie, would you just share some of your journey as getting your own education and becoming an educator.

- I'd love to, Dr. Mike, this story really sets the framework for my life. When I was 11 years old, I accompanied my mother to a dental appointment for an abscessed tooth. My stepfather went with us and as we entered the doctor's office, I noticed that there was a room for colors only, and another room for whites only. I noticed in the whites-only room, there were about five people and they would eventually go back and see the dentist. I noticed as others came into that same waiting room, they were also escorted back. When the office closed, my mother was escorted back and I could hear the screams and the wails, and just wonder what was going on. I could hear my stepfather comforting her and soon I saw her walk through the door with bloody gauze in her mouth and crying. So when we got home, my oldest brother and older brother who was attending junior college in HBCU Junior College, in another city was home and he sat all of us down on the floor, I am the eighth of nine children. He set us down on the floor and he said, "What happened to mother today will never happen to her again because I'm going to be a dentist. And I will make sure that she never has to go to another dentist and experience what she experienced." And he did it. So mother then would travel to California, I would typically take her and get her dental needs met. A sister who was eight years older than I am, said that, "I'm going to be a nurse, so that I can help look over mother's health." She entered a nursing program out of state because she wasn't allowed or could not enroll in a program at one of the major universities or colleges in our town. She came back about a year later because the struggle of adjusting in another city, coming from a small town of 2000 was just overwhelming. But she did go back to college, got a degree in education, became a master teacher. And she studied remedies, natural remedies, that would address issues that mother had. So for the rest of mother's life, she made that contribution. Another brother, six years older than I, said that, "I'm going to be a doctor, then she can come to me and I can take care of all of her health needs." When he finished his degree at an HBCU in biology. By that time he was drafted in the military. However, once he finished that assignment, he was hired by a large utility company as an executive. He retired from that particular organization and opened two flourishing businesses. And he too helped mother financially. The brother that was 13 years old said, "I'm gonna be a pharmacist and I'm going to make sure that she gets the medicine that she needs." And he did, he went to FAMU and HBCU, received his PhD in pharmacy. And to this day, he advises all of us about different illnesses, different medicines that are appropriate. He did that for mother also. Well, I'm 11 years old and I didn't know what I was going to do, but I knew from listening to my siblings, that I would be going to college, and I did. Without an education, Dr. Mike, none of the promises that we made on the floor that day ever would have materialized, none of them. Education gave us an opportunity to provide for our mother, to set the stage for our own children, gave us a way to move out of the two bedroom little apartment that we were in and to start a legacy movement for our own children. As a result of that education at an HBCU, 12 of us including nieces and nephews now graduated from FAMU. Four graduated from Howard University, nieces and nephews have attended over 20 colleges and universities throughout the country in 11 states. And I asked them for their resume two years ago when I was preparing a family reunion and I sat there and counted every professional title and it was over 100 titles and counting. Without a doubt, if we had not had an HBCU, that knew our need was available for us, our lives would not be what they are today.

- Wow, well, Dr. Madie, for a lot of our podcast listeners, the younger folks didn't really grow up in a time when there was segregation. So just by explanation, just so people would understand, your mother went to the dentist, she was sat in the coloreds only room, all the white people were served ahead of her and then after the office closed, she was served and they didn't use any pain medication 'cause they'd reserved that for the white people.

- Correct?

- Yeah, I understood it, I just wanna make sure our audience understands the gravity of that story and it just is a reminder of how God can use a situation that people could intend not for good, but end up using it for good.

- Yes, absolutely, thank you for that clarification. Yes, you're exactly right. And I know, to add to what you're saying, that it was God's intent that I moved forward, being number eight. That to me, I had a greater responsibility because I was with her longer. So indeed she ended up, we ended up in a four generation household and excuse me, and it was a joy of my life.

- That's great, what an incredible way to honor your mother, all the children. Now, did your mother attend university?

- At 16 years old, my mother wanted to attend Tuskegee Institute, but her mother was too frightened to let her go from a small town in Georgia to Tuskegee, Alabama. The young man that wanted to marry her, his family was going to pay for my mother's education. But my grandmother for whom I am named, didn't allow it. But mother was gifted in math, so you can only imagine what her life would've been had she had that opportunity. The one thing she would tell us is that I couldn't go, but I'm gonna make sure that you go to college. So it was the expectation and it was also the motivation to be able to capture the story of her life and to know, I mean, to see it, Nick, to see it, is just on my mind.

- Right.

- Is a story that her grandchildren have heard many times and their goal, even as millennials are to make sure that Aunt Madie approves of where they're going.

- That's a great thing. Well, for our listening audience who may not be familiar with the terminology, HBCU, Historically Black College and Universities. So that's what we're talking about today as educational opportunities. And also Nick brought up something historical about segregation, a cultural fact that is true, that many people don't realize, Madie's generation, is one of the first generations to open the door to middle class living because she and her siblings went to college in the sixties and seventies we had more African Americans who were able to go into a middle class lifestyle. And so to put that in historical perspective, we're only a couple of generations out of segregation, maybe one generation out of poverty. You're from North Florida, just like me. I grew up in North Florida. And in North Florida, your choices were working on the fields, farming, or working as a maid, a domestic. That was all your choices and for the ones fortunate to go to college, they had an opportunity to have a different life and to give their children a different life.

- Absolutely.

- So how have you given back, how have you reached back to the African American community through your career?

- Well, Mike, when you come from a situation that I came from, a town of 2000.

- Which town was it, Dr. Madie?

- Monticello.

- Monticello, okay, I know where that is.

- Oh, you know where Monticello is?

- Sure, yeah.

- Oh, okay, it's a small town.

- Yeah.

- Monticello. You don't wanna work in the fields and you leave home knowing you've gotta reach back. There's no way that you can have parents that work so hard to move you forward. You don't forget that. And we were raised as a family that when one graduates, he reaches back and he helps the other, I finally decided to become a social worker. I intern at this at-risk school in Tallahassee as a social worker. And I started mentoring in my senior year in college. And I loved the experience. When I graduated, ironically let me just skip forward, 30 years after graduating from Florida A&M God blessed us with an opportunity to go back to Florida A&M as president and first lady. The first thing I did was institute the governor's mentoring program and adopted that same school. The thing that was a little painful was that that school was still an at-risk school 30 years later.

- [Nicholas] Wow.

- Same facility, few things had been upgraded, but essentially in the same zip code. But having adopted that school, the full force of the university and its faculty and staff and students now converged on that school. And we were able to work one on one with the students and the parents, that was really rewarding. But going back to graduating from Florida A&M, I spent seven years at Florida state working and that's where I met Mike.

- Yep, that's true.

- I don't know if Mike wants me to tell this, but Mike was my student assistant.

- I love that.

- How did he do Dr. Madie?

- How did he do?

- We wanna know what kind of grades, now that he's Dr. Mike and so fancy, we wanna know the real deal.

- He was a great worker. Now, after he would finish working, I was working on my PhD as a single mom, I was a single mom again. I would give him a list of books to go to the library and find them and put them in my study carrel. So he did that for me a number of times so I think part of my PhD belongs to him.

- Oh, okay.

- I appreciate that.

- He'll take that.

- Good going.

- Now, one thing I wanted to ask about, again, I want to kind of help our younger audience think through. When you say working in the fields, my mom grew up in Jennings, Florida. So another North Florida, small town, and she described when she and her brother would work in the tobacco fields. So when you talk about working in the fields, can you describe what your mother's generation, what that meant if you didn't go away and get an education?

- Right, right. Well, for my mother's generation, it meant working in a field all day, for her specifically, it meant going to a lumber meal at night and working alongside the mint in that mill, it also meant cleaning a white lady's house. And this lady was very kind to us. She would make sure that we had the appropriate clothes on a special occasion. I remember mother talking about her fondly. And then for her, she had five girls whose hair needed to have been groomed. My mother was a seamstress, she made our clothes. She was the neighborhood hairstylist, doing hair for her friends' children. There is no way in the world that I can even imagine how she was able to do all of that. But coming up to my generation, during the summers we had to work in tobacco and Dr. Mike, I knew that was not going to be my life.

- [Michael] Oh, I did it too as a kid, I have been in the tobacco fields as a kid.

- That was not gonna be my life, mother also worked in the cotton fields and my grandmother owned a property. I would live with her during the summer, because it was a school year, because there were no babysitters. And I remember this one day, she put one of those sacks across me and said, "Just follow me down on the row and do what I do." And I watched her for a few feet and I sat on the ground. I said, "I can't do that," and I didn't. But she understood, I'm named after her, what was she going to do? But it's hard labor.

- Right, and I just think that backstory gives people a little bit of a sense, 'cause now people think, well I can go to university or I can do something else and there are a lot of choices. But in that time there weren't a lot of choices. But the statistics that Mike talked about does show that some of those choices, even now without an education, you're gonna be bread and chicken sandwiches.

- That's right.

- There's no demeaning work, right? Everybody brings their labor and all work should be honored.

- Right.

- And we know that there's disparities when people don't receive an education.

- Right, listening to Mike say that for the first time 40% of public school children will be from low income families. Okay, where are the other students going?

- Mmh, hmm.

- Where are the students in the private schools? They're in private schools. What are we going to do with that 40% of low income children that will flood the schools over the next decade, HBCUs are created to handle those students because they understand that an HBCU is still an only choice for a lot of students. In 2021, we still have first generation college students, Nick, 2021.

- [Nicholas] Right.

- First generation college students.

- [Nicholas] Right.

- That tells you a lot about our nation. At an HBCU you also have the legacy generational student whose grandparents went to the university and these two groups converge on campus. And the synergy that they bring, one understands that my plight is better, but it doesn't mean that doors are going to open for me more readily.

- [Nicholas] Right.

- Because I'm still a black student. Companies must extend themselves to these students and include them. It's the right thing to do, the bottom line for diversity. If you make a wise investment in students early on you get a great return. I love the fact that I've seen interns here today. I've talked with many staff members. We have a desire to bring on more interns. And I think that is excellent.

- Well, we're just getting started. Dr. Madie, I'm so grateful for you to spend the time to talk with our HR group today, about how we can be effective recruiting on campus at HBCUs.

- They must feel comfortable in their own skin. That the reason they choose HBCUs is that they know they're not going to be discriminated against. They know that there will not be any carrels there. They know they don't have to deal with unconscious bias.

- [Nicholas] Right.

- If there are people in the organization that looks like them, then they know, okay, this is a safe place, This is a place where I can make a living, raise my kids and be here until retirement. They're dedicated.

- [Nicholas] Right.

- They typically are academically bright, right? But some come to the campus poor, that shouldn't be a death sentence for their future because they happen to come from low income families. But we were given an opportunity and it sounds like you're trying to create that environment where a student can flourish.

- Absolutely.

- Thank you so much, Dr. Mosley for being a part of our podcast today.

- [Mosley] My pleasure.

- Thank you for your many decades of service and in being in higher education and the numerous people that you have mentored. Nick, so you know that Dr. Madie now is a peacemaker.

- Yep.

- And she is committed to helping us, to helping your company here. She has connections at Florida, A& M. She taught the president of Alabama A&M.

- Oh great.

- So we have people that she knows personally, that we can come up with a strategy to reach out to some more students. As stated earlier, Nick has initiated a partnership with the all-boys school here, best academy down in Metro Atlanta. And we're gonna have Dr. Tim Jones to come on and talk about the opportunities that are there. And they're gonna be individuals from this company who go to mentor those boys. So you talk talked about the pipeline. It is starting.

- It is happening through this.

- It is starting to happen.

- Amen.

- Yeah, I'm just grateful that these ideas and God has allowed us to come together to work on bettering the lives of the people.

- Yes.

- That's awesome.

- All right, thank you.

- That's what it's all about.

- My wonderful wife for being a part of this episode.

- Thank you.

- Thanks Dr. Madie, thank you for being here with us.

- It has been my pleasure, thanks for having me.

- Thanks.

- [Announcer] Thank you so much for listening to the *"Wisdom for Wealth for Life" podcast. If you're looking for financial advice, please contact us. Please visit ronblue.com. That's ronblue.com. Thank you for listening, and please subscribe to wherever you listen to your podcasts. Ron Blue Trust is a trademark used by a Thrivent Trust Company, a federal savings association and Thrive Trust Company of Tennessee incorporated. A Tennessee public trust company, separate affiliated entities. Trust and investment management accounts and services offered by Ronald Blue Trust are not insured by the FDIC or any other federal government agency are not deposits or other obligations of, nor guaranteed by any bank or bank affiliate, and are subject to investment risk including possible loss of the principal amount invested.