BEMIDJI, Minn. (March 9, 2012) — Dr. Annie B. Henry, professor emerita of education at Bemidji State University, will host a book signing for her memoirs, “The Girl From Jacksonville Who Dared to Dream, Hope and Believe!” on Thursday, March 15.

The signing will be held from 4-6 p.m. at the Gathering Place of the American Indian Resource Center on the Bemidji State campus.

Henry retired from the BSU faculty in 2007 after 20 years as a professor of professional education.

Henry was born to sharecropper parents in a legally segregated America. She was not allowed to attend kindergarten; her parents could not take her to the hospital or to the emergency room; she could not ride a bus to school; and the Jacksonville Public Library was off limits to her.

She eventually completed college, earning an undergraduate degree from Edward Waters College, and a master’s degree from Florida A&M University. After teaching briefly in Florida and for 15 years in the Virgin Islands, she completed a doctorate at Florida State University — where she previously had been denied access to a course because of her race. She became the first member of her family to earn a Ph.D.

Through determination, possibilities and perseverance, Henry became “the girl from Jacksonville who dared to dream, hope and believe.”

Henry created BSU’s first endowed scholarships for African-Americans in education. She also established a life estate gift through the BSU Foundation, which will come from the sale of her home at some future date and be used to fund more scholarships. A room in the Education-Arts Building on the BSU campus is named in Henry’s honor.

Henry’s book will be available for purchase at the signing.