Catherine Meeks: February 16, 2024

Dr. Catherine Meeks is a storyteller with a purpose. Born in 1946 in segregated Arkansas, Meeks has spent a lifetime working on issues of racial healing and the promotion of life. The daughter of a sharecropper and a teacher, she grew up hearing her father talk about a 12-year-old brother who died from a burst appendix before she was born—refused service at a white hospital. “I grew up in that kind of atmosphere of The world is really hostile toward us because we’re black and poor.” For over 30 years, Meeks has advocated wellness and social justice, giving voice to those living on the margins of society and promoting a healthy racial dialogue worldwide. Meeks has a master’s degree in social work from Clark Atlanta University and a Ph.D. from Emory University focusing on Jungian Psychology and African American Women’s Literature.