Community champion Rolfe’s experiences as a student activist and the influence of Luper and others remained strong as she began her career, first working for Oklahoma City’s Community Action Agency during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rolfe held a number of positions, helping organize community members in low-income areas to address issues in their communities. Rolfe wrote grants and reports to secure funding for the nonprofit organization and enjoyed working with a variety of agencies around the metro to accomplish their mission. “In one of the communities, there was not a park for Black children to play in,” recalls Rolfe. “Really the only playground equipment was at the school, and that was locked after school, so we tried to find resources to provide a park for the children to play in.” Rolfe shifted gears in the 1980s to work for Cox Communications Oklahoma, from which she retired a few years ago. She began her career with Cox in the employee training and development sector, then transitioned to the diversity training field and would write the first Affirmative Action Program for the Oklahoma office. The corporate office provided diversity training templates, and at the local level, Rolfe and her teammates developed and implemented ways to bring them to life for their employees in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The training raised the level of awareness among employees about the prevalence of racism and how to address it. “Training was part of it, but we also looked at personnel policies and procedures, like hiring and promotions,” said Rolfe. “Training can’t change a person’s heart, but it can open their eyes and [make them] more accepting of people from other cultures and backgrounds. When you have policies in place and hold a leadership team accountable, it provides avenues to be open.” Beyond the basic diversity training, Rolfe shared personal experiences, which helped employees internalize the team’s message and acknowledge how racism impacted those around them.
Balancing career and children Rolfe was a full-time working mom of two boys, and a single mom when she and their father divorced. She’s quick to credit the boys’ grandparents for helping with school drop off and other responsibilities. Rolfe’s older son John is now deceased, but she remains connected to him through two grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Her younger son Jarvis, who turns 50 this month, has Down syndrome and lives with Rolfe. “He is the joy of my life,” said Rolfe. “When he was a baby and I was going to the pediatrician with him, I was bemoaning that here I have this child who is different. The doctor said, ‘Just treat him like any other kid and he will be OK.’ So that’s been my attitude.” Jarvis attended Casady School, was a Special Olympian in track and field and now bowls regularly with a team of coworkers at Meadows Center for Opportunity, where he has worked since age 19. Rolfe feels fortunate that Jarvis is high-functioning, has developed his own network through church and with family and has a very active life. Knowing not all children or adults with disabilities have that same support system, through a variety of groups, Rolfe has been an advocate for others with disabilities, highlighting the need for access to things like transportation, recreational activities and medical attention. Rolfe and Jarvis share cooking duties and chores, and Rolfe says they meet in the kitchen at mealtimes between their independent activities and obligations, she volunteering with the food and clothing ministry at her church and serving as a board member for the Oklahoma State Council on Aging and he working with his church’s men’s group, singing with the men's chorus and serving as an usher.
When Rolfe retired from Cox, one of the company’s technicians, who was also an artist, presented her with a chalk drawing depicting an experience she regularly shared in trainings. As a young child, Rolfe and a cousin were visiting their grandparents in Athens, Texas. During a trip to the local courthouse, Rolfe and her cousin snuck a drink out of the water fountain labeled “white only.” The drawing of that rebellious act by two little girls and the fact that her story so impacted the technician mean much to Rolfe. “People would get teary in some of the classes,” remembers Rolfe. “They would open up and talk about their own prejudices, both Black and white. We had an opportunity to help people feel what the training was about, not just look at it from an academic perspective.”
ROLFE WITH SON JARVIS
28 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / OCTOBER 2020
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