Brenda Bailey Lett
When Brenda Lett came to New Hampshire in 1993, she began a journey that has earned her reputation as one of the Granite State’s most “Influential and Phenomenal Women.”* Her organizing skills and creativity have led to a galaxy of cultural celebrations and strategically positioned platforms for social justice.
Ms. Lett, of African descent, is co-author of Race Between Us: Racism A Human Experience** with her co-worker, a woman of European descent, telling their story of the profound and inescapable truths that emerge when barriers are removed and honest dialogue happens.
Born and raised in Chicago, Brenda Bailey Lett is the eldest of six children in her family. Her early experiences as “a city girl” may help to explain her determination after the cultural shock of moving to northern New England to continue her formal education. She has earned master’s degrees in the fields of mental health and economic development that prepared her to advocate for under-served people in the community. Lett is now retired from her professional position with the New Hampshire Department of Corrections as a Corrections Counselor Case Manager. However, her commitment to social justice has never been stronger.
Aside from being recognized for her own accomplishments, Brenda Lett has been a Convenor of the Tapestry of Color Awards Luncheon, rewarding other community activists with proclamations from the NH Governor. She is a co-founder of the annual We Are One Summer Festivals that draw people together from around northern New England. And Lett co-sponsors the Community Kwanzaa Celebrations that close each year, punctuated by her own joyful affirmations.
This woman of faith is a proud wife, mother and grandmother who holds to the old-fashioned principles that parents must provide their kids with "proper home training" and that school teachers should use “the golden rule" to reinforce fairness in the classroom. Brenda also demands that adults be proactive models for youth by holding all public officials accountable whenever fear tactics and terrorism are used to control subordinates.
Ms. Lett has been publicly recognized for her activities as “a drum major for peace” by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday Coalition (MLK Coalition-NH); by the YWCA for Empowering Leadership and Equity in New Hampshire, (YWCA-NH); and by the NAACP Freedom Fund.
In addition to her many personal acts of kindness, Lett’s public leadership roles over these three decades include being a former president of the Manchester NAACP and serving on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations, such as the NH Black Women Health Project, the Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Foundation, and Haymarket Peoples Foundation.
Perhaps Brenda Lett’s name is most well-known around New Hampshire and, in fact, across the country, because of her many years, along with her husband Woullard Lett, of understanding and teaching the principles the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA). Brenda Lett serves as a member of N’COBRA’s national board and she holds the office as national treasurer of N’COBRA. She continues to educate the public about healing through reparations.
We are proud to present our Citizen of the Year, Brenda Baily Lett.
