Timuel Black dies: Chicago historian and civil rights leader dies at age 102

Chicago (WLS)-Historian and civil rights activist Timuel Black died Wednesday at the age of 102, and his wife confirmed with ABC7 Chicago.

She thanked everyone for their support and added, “My husband will say he will do his best to help this world become a better place.”

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Black moved from Alabama to Chicago with his family in 1919.

Growing up in the infamous black belt of the South, he quickly learned how to do the world and early on the rules to follow to avoid trouble.

In Chicago, he attended Burke Elementary School and Dusable High School.

Black was 23 when Pearl Harbor was bombed, which led to his service during World War II.

After returning to Japan, I attended Roosevelt University and earned a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

In 1960, Black worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to bring civil rights leaders to the city to protest the housing problems of poor residents of the West Side of Chicago.

Three years later, he helped organize a 2,000 Chicago delegation to attend a historic march in Washington.

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Dr. King became Black’s best friend, and Dr. King’s legacy was reflected in Black’s teachings and his politics.

“I have to hold that dream in my heart and soul,” he said. “I have a duty to this man who has stated clearly for me and more. The dream of the world it should be.”

He was inspired by his parents’ attitude that change would come. He said the march created optimism that would shape his rest of his life.

He lost running his first campaign for city councilors, but he was instrumental in Harold Washington’s historic elections as Chicago’s first African-American mayor.

Black was a longtime professor of social sciences at City College in Chicago. He continued to write several books, including “The Bridge of Memories” and “The Sanctuary, Timuel Black’s Chicago Street,” about African-Americans who left the South and came to Chicago in search of a better life. rice field.

In 1991, a young activist named Barack Obama wanted to become a community organizer in Chicago. So he sought the advice of Professor Black.

Blacks will attend the inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States.

Professor Black takes great pride in knowing that the trip to the White House traveled to his neighborhood because Obama was his neighbor before Obama moved to the country’s most famous address. Was there.

But Professor Black said history was made with President Obama, but we still hadn’t fully realized his best friend Dr. King’s dream of a post-race society. ..

“Race has not been overcome and is still part of this society,” Black said.

A black man who would make a living from history and live to see much of it turned 100 in 2018. And while those over the age of 100 were slowing down, he never stopped fighting for the civil rights of everyone. Black said his extraordinary life gave him great satisfaction. And at this point, he continued, feeling fulfilled at the end of the time and happy to have lived a happy and productive life for himself and others.

“Keep your faith,” he said. “Be careful. Sleep at night, get a good night’s sleep, and start tomorrow.”

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Timuel Black dies: Chicago historian and civil rights leader dies at age 102

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