RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, We, the members of the Chicago City Council, wish to extend our congratulations and warmest birthday wishes to Dr. Timuel D. Black in honor of his 100th Birthday; and,
WHEREAS, On behalf of the entire 4th Ward and the greater City of Chicago, Alderman Sophia King would like to extend her personal tribute to Dr. Black on this momentous occasion as recognition for being an outstanding citizen of the City of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Black is an esteemed and revered educator, political activist, community leader, oral historian, author and philosopher; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Black was born to sharecroppers in Birmingham, Alabama on December 7, 1918. In 1919, his family relocated to Chicago as part ofthe first Great Migration, and ultimately settled in the present-day neighborhood of Bronzeville; and,
WHEREAS, He attended the all-black DuSable High School, where he was classmates with Nat King Cole, John Johnson and Harold Washington Jr. As a student, he worked to support his family by delivering papers for the Chicago Defender newspaper; and,
WHEREAS, During the Great Depression he worked as a delivery boy in a local grocery store, organizing a campaign known as "Don't Spend Your Money Where You Can't Work." The campaign ultimately led to Dr. Black forming the local chapter of the Retail Clerks Union, where he gained exposure to the life of an organizer; and,
WHEREAS, After organizing for several causes, including the Congress on Racial Equality, which worked to desegregate Chicago department stores and public accommodations, he was drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served in the 308lh Quartermaster Railhead Company. He fought in two ofthe bloodiest battles of World War II, the Invasion of Normandy and the Battle ofthe Bulge; and,
WHEREAS, His service and valor resulted in him being awarded four Battle Stars and a Croix de Guerre, the highest military honor accorded by France to non-citizens; and,
WHEREAS, After the war, he obtained degrees from Roosevelt University and the University of Chicago, studying sociology and history. Applying his studies, he became an educator, teaching history and social studies at several of Chicago's public high schools, including DuSable and Hyde Park; and,
WHEREAS, While working towards a Doctorate from University of Chicago, he was first exposed to Martin Luther King after watching him speak on his television in December of 1955. In fact, he was so inspired by the words of Dr. King, that he abandoned his studies and boarded an airplane to Montgomery, Alabama, where he met Dr. King; and,
WHEREAS, Timuel's support for Dr. King was ardent and unwavering, and he was entrusted by Dr. King to organize the Chicago contingent for the 1963 March on Washington, where he witnessed Dr. King's historic "I Have a Dream" speech; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Black was committed to instilling Dr. King's legacy and lessons into the future leaders of America through his work as an educator. As part of this mission, he fought for the desegregation of Chicago Public Schools, and served as an administrator in the City Colleges of Chicago system; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Black continued his mission of activism and political engagement, running for several offices, including the Chicago City Council and the 22nd District of the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1983, using the lessons he had learned through his extensive organizing career, he led a voter registration campaign that was instrumental in electing his former schoolmate, Harold Washington Jr., as the first African-American mayor of Chicago; and,
WHEREAS, Timuel continues to be heavily involved in activism and political causes to this day, and has become close friends with former President Barack Obama, and was involved in the successful campaign to bring the Obama Presidential Center to the South Side; and,
WHEREAS, He has received many recognitions, awards and honors, including the Benton Medal for Distinguished Public Service, where during the nomination, one nominator wrote that he was "one of the most influential civil rights leaders in Chicago History." In addition to the heralded Benton Medal, he has also received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Chicago and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Roosevelt University; and,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twelfth day of December, 2018, do hereby congratulate Dr. Timuel D. Black on this occasion of his birthday; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies ofthis resolution are presented to Dr. Timuel D. Black in honor of his 100th Birthday as a token of our esteem and good wishes.
