On November 30, 2022, four great Washingtonians will receive the region’s signature lifetime achievement award, joining the more than 180 Laureates in the Washington Business Hall of Fame who serve as role models to the next generation of business leaders. Their careers and backgrounds are as broad and diverse as their accomplishments are far-reaching.
The Learn About the Laureate series serves as an opportunity for the Greater Washington business community to get to know the 2022 Washington Business Hall of Fame inductees just a little bit better.
Check out Charlene Mickens Dukes’ Q&A with JA below!
CHARLENE MICKENS DUKES, EdD
President Emerita
Prince George’s Community College
Founder & Principal
The Dukes Group LLC
JA: What was the hardest job you have ever done? What made it so difficult?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: The definition of “hard” changes with experience, growth, and commitment to doing the work we love, because we want to make a difference. So, for me, the hardest job was my very first one. Throughout their teen years, all five of my brothers had newspaper routes as their first opportunities to earn money. Those routes were then passed down as each brother became old enough to take it on.
It appeared to be relatively easy to me, so, as the oldest daughter, I accepted the opportunity to join my big brother, in the news delivery business. I thought I was helping my brother; he thought I was an employee and proceeded to direct me in all things business – including what time I needed to get up to be at the corner to meet the truck driver, count the papers, separate them by neighborhood and street, and wait until he arrived to start deliveries.
Always being one to accept a challenge, I responded positively to every “big brother order.” Even though the hours were dreadful, I was there to meet the truck. Even though the papers were heavy, I lifted them off the truck and put them in the order he expected. And, even though we only had a few hours to either put a newspaper in hands or on porches, I did the work, and we arrived at school on time. We were a great team until our first payday – two weeks later. I watched eagerly as he counted his pay on a beautiful Saturday morning. It was when he turned and handed me a crisp one-dollar bill that I knew my time and talent was worth more. After accepting the dollar bill, I resigned!
The lesson for me was to ensure that wherever and whenever I accepted the opportunity to work, I fully understand the role I was to assume and the expectations associated with success. The most difficult aspect was to attach financial remuneration to the expectations. I only had to think about my brother and those newspapers!
JA: Did you have a mentor or a role model over the course of your career?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: I have been fortunate to receive much expertise, advice, and coaching across my career – more than this response even allows me to convey. Similar to many, I cannot answer these questions without thinking about my parents, Charles and Doris Mickens, who were married for 62 years and are now deceased. They were my early mentors, showing me what it meant to be a good neighbor, to be engaged civically, to give to others and not expect anything in return, to honor your elders, and to have faith in the goodness of people. I try every day to carry these personal beliefs with me.
Professionally, I also honor those mentors who supported me in my career and in my service to the greater community. They taught me to understand that all people have a gift or a talent and to allow it to manifest itself. My mentors include Claudia Jones, the first African American valedictorian at the local high school, and the two Treece Sisters who stood up for her and her academic excellence to ensure she would get the honor that she worked for and deserved. At the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Helena Hughes, the dean of Students; David Griffin, the Executive Dean; and Lawrencella Dukes, the director of Counseling were the first professionals of color who were living examples to me of what was possible in a career. Dr. Mack Kingsmore, Dr. Robert Bickford, and Dr. Ronald Williams told me that I could be a college president and gave me opportunities to excel far in excess of the position descriptions. College chancellors and presidents - Drs. Helen Benjamin, Jennifer Wimbish, Sharon Blackman, Caroline Williams, Jerry Sue Thornton, and Christine Johnson McPhail coached, advised, shared, and continue to serve as exemplars for me. They simply believed in me and encouraged me to believe.
“Students should understand that they are the change we must see in the world. They must take hold and be better to the world and to each other than we are right now.”
JA: If you were to create a slogan or a theme song for your life, what would it be?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: My slogan is simple and has been a cornerstone of my entire life: One for all, and All for One. It is our family motto, given by our parents. It defines the lives of my brothers and sisters to this very day. It is what I carried with me for my entire career in higher education. The students educated and the communities served by colleges and universities expect us to believe in them, to serve them, and to assist them in reaching their dreams, aspirations, goals, and desires to be a better populace committed to service and civic engagement.
JA: If you could choose one person, living or dead, to have dinner with, who would it be?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: In these uncertain times, I would choose the Honorable Shirley Chisholm, who, while deceased, has a lasting impact on the country and the world. As she prefers to describe it, she was the first Black woman elected Congressman. Shirley Chisholm believed in herself and remained “Unbought and Unbossed” through her campaign as the first woman to run for president of the United States and in her commitment to her community and her country. She is one among many who represent the principles of social action, social justice, and equality among humankind.
JA: The global pandemic has caused young people to reconsider the connection between their education and an uncertain future. What should students be doing today to help prepare them for a successful tomorrow?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: I believe students should understand that the world does not stand still. It does not wait for them, so they should grab hold and remember what some of the great philosophers and everyday people know:
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” (Frederick Douglass)
“We must be the change we wish to see.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
“There is nothing so stable as change.” (Bob Dylan)
“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what will happen next.” (Gilda Radner)
Students should understand that they are the change we must see in the world. They must take hold and be better to the world and to each other than we are right now.
JA: What can the Greater Washington business community do to build and sustain a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce?
Charlene Mickens Dukes, EdD: The business community can continue to educate itself on what it means and what it looks like to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive and acknowledge what gets in the way of achieving the goal. Let’s understand, admit to, and address our own individual and collective bias in such a way that we can see that we are greater together in all aspects of our lives.
You’re invited to support Charlene Mickens Dukes’ induction into the Washington Business Hall of Fame. All proceeds benefit Junior Achievement of Greater Washington’s work to prepare local students to be ready for the future.