Legacy in Motion: Danielle Dickens Carries Her Family’s Spelman Story Forward

From a Mother’s Second Chance to a Daughter’s Calling, Dickens’ Spelman Journey Reflects the Enduring Power of Education, Sisterhood and Mentorship

For Danielle Dickens, Ph.D., C’2009, a psychology professor at Spelman College, her connection to the College began long before she became a student. As an elementary school student, Dickens sometimes accompanied her mother, Brenai Dickens, C’98, to class. Brenai first enrolled at Spelman in 1980 but left after one semester, returning to Cleveland, Ohio, after becoming homesick. Fifteen years later, she returned to Atlanta with her two children and resumed the degree she had started. For Brenai, returning to Spelman was about more than earning a diploma.

“Completing my degree meant more to me than earning a diploma. It represented perseverance, second chances and proving to myself that it was never too late to finish what I started,” Brenai said.

A Mother’s Second Chance

After marrying in 1984 and divorcing in 1994, Brenai decided that 1995 was the right time to start over. While raising two children and working toward her degree, she relied on the love and support from her mother and friends. She graduated in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in child development. She wanted her daughter to see firsthand what perseverance looked like.

“I hoped my daughter would see that it is never too late to pursue your dreams and finish what you started,” Brenai said. “I wanted her to understand that life may bring challenges and unexpected changes, but those challenges do not stop you from achieving your goals.”

For Dickens, those years on campus offered an introduction to Spelman that extended beyond her mother’s classroom. She remembers sitting in her mother’s music course and accompanying her to a history of the Black church class, which included visits to historically Black churches throughout Atlanta. “Those experiences gave me an early connection to Spelman, not simply as my mother’s college, but as a place where I was beginning to experience learning, community and Black history alongside her,” Dickens said.

Finding Her Place at Spelman

That connection eventually became her own. Dickens entered Spelman in 2005 as a psychology major. By her sophomore year, she knew she wanted to return to the College one day as a professor. Her vision was shaped by her mother, an educator who spent 25 years with Atlanta Public Schools, as well as by the Spelman professors who challenged and encouraged her. Among them were Patterson, Angela Farris Watkins, Ph.D., C’1986; B. LaConyea Butler, Ph.D., C’1956; and Evelyn Chisolm, Ph.D., C’1949.

Their expectations extended beyond academics. Dickens remembers professors teaching students how to be prepared, communicate effectively and carry themselves with confidence. “They held us to high expectations because they believed we were capable of meeting them,” Dickens said.

From Student to Scholar

Those lessons followed her beyond the gates of Spelman. After earning her doctoral degree in applied social and health psychology at Colorado State University, Dickens taught at the University of Georgia before returning to Spelman, where she developed a research agenda centered on the experiences of Black women. Today, she is a full professor of psychology at Spelman. Her scholarship examines Black women’s identities and their experiences in workplaces, higher education and STEM, including the effects of discrimination and gendered racism on mental health and well-being.

Her academic journey also led her to become a lead author of “Psychology of Black Womanhood,” which she describes as the first comprehensive textbook in her field dedicated to the psychology of Black women. “Spelman gave me the foundation and confidence to believe that Black women’s experiences deserve to be centered, not as an afterthought, but as a legitimate and important area of scholarship,” Dickens said.

The legacy she inherited has also shaped how Dickens teaches and mentors students. “My family taught me that you should not simply accept things as they are if you believe something needs to change. You have a responsibility to speak up, stand up for yourself and others and, when possible, do something to move things forward,” Dickens said.

The Power of Sisterhood

For Dickens, that responsibility is closely tied to the relationships she has built at Spelman.
One of the most significant is her relationship with Sandra Sims Patterson, Ph.D., C’1970, a retired Spelman professor, longtime mentor, colleague and Spelman sister. Patterson first knew Dickens’ mother through their work at Metro Atlanta Respite, Developmental Services (M.A.R.D.S.). Years later, Patterson’s daughter, Shanudra Patterson, C'2009, became a classmate of Dickens at Spelman.

The relationship between the families came full circle on the College’s campus. Dickens credits Patterson with supporting and motivating her throughout her journey, describing her as an example of the kind of Spelman woman who uses her knowledge and experience to help others grow. That spirit of mentorship and connection is central to how Dickens understands her own role at Spelman today. “Personally, Spelman also taught me that you do not rise alone. You bring others with you,” Dickens said.

For Brenai, seeing her daughter return to Spelman as a professor has brought her own journey full circle. “There were times she sat with me in the classroom while I worked toward my degree. I never imagined that one day she would become a professor herself, let alone at our alma mater,” Brenai said. “Seeing her now as a recently promoted full professor is a beautiful reminder that all things are possible through perseverance, hard work and faith.”

The journey is a source of pride not only for Brenai but for the entire family. “My greatest joy is knowing my journey helped inspire her journey and that what I started became part of the foundation for her own success,” Brenai said.

For Dickens, the legacy is now hers to carry forward — from mother to daughter, from professor to student and from one generation of Spelman women to the next. “I am carrying forward something my mother began, while also carrying forward the lessons I received from the Spelman women who taught me," Dickens said. "Spelman has been a defining part of my personal and professional journey and a place where so much of my story has unfolded."