Kalamazoo Valley Celebrates Namesake Of Its Anna Whitten Hall
Whitten's Impact Uplifted at Women's History Month Event as Building Marks 20th Year
Kalamazoo civil rights leader Anna Whitten will be honored this Women's History Month at the very building named after her - Kalamazoo Valley Community College's Anna Whitten Hall in downtown Kalamazoo.
The college invites the public to attend "A Life of Service: Anna Whitten Tribute Luncheon" Wednesday March 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m., in Room 128 at Anna Whitten Hall. No RSVPs are required for this free event, which will feature heavy hors d'oeuvres.
It was 20 years ago this year that Kalamazoo Valley named its Arcadia Commons Campus building at 202 N. Rose St. after Whitten to honor its longest-serving board member's vast contributions to the institution. The structure first opened in 1994, renamed Anna Whitten Hall in February 2005. Her legacy also continues to live on at the college through the Anna Whitten Humanitarian Scholarship, created by Whitten's great granddaughter, Nicole Jennings, in 2011.
"Every year, the college hosts a Women's History Month program," said Valley President L. Marshall Washington, Ph.D. "With the milestone 20th anniversary of the naming of Anna Whitten Hall this year, it was only fitting to remind everyone of the impact that Anna Whitten had at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and in the larger community. May we never forget her quiet, diligent and powerful leadership and servanthood."
A highlight of the tribute will be the dedication of the new interactive display in the Anna Whitten Hall lobby that chronicles Whitten's life story and accomplishments. Speakers include President Washington and community member Sadie Clark Miles, who calls Whitten "a mother figure." Guests are encouraged to wear red in support of Equal Pay Day.
Whitten, a Port Huron native, moved to Kalamazoo in 1950. She joined Valley's Board of Trustees in 1968 and was active as board secretary until her death in 2016, at age 95. She played a pivotal role in advancing the college's mission, advocating for students above all else and ensuring that accessible education remained a cornerstone of the community.
Whitten was a tireless champion for people in need, whether they needed food, an education, health care or their civil rights. She helped create the Douglass Community Center and was instrumental in a downtown Kalamazoo park being named after Martin Luther King Jr. She worked with a wide range of organizations, from the NAACP, Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes and Ladies' Library Association of Kalamazoo to the Family Health Center.
Whitten has earned numerous awards for her humanitarian efforts, including the 2013 Red Rose Award from the Rotary Club of Kalamazoo and the YWCA Women of Achievement Award in 1999. In 1999, the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners named Whitten an official "county treasure." Whitten is also the recipient of the Metropolitan Kalamazoo Branch of the NAACP's Humanitarian Award.