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A celebration of 75 years of Roosevelt University

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Dempsey Travis

January 24, 2020 by Heather Hartmann

Real Estate Entrepreneur, Civil Rights Activist | BA Political Science, ’49

Dempsy Travis

Dempsey Travis studied with Harold Washington at Roosevelt and later became a key fundraiser for his classmate’s mayoral campaigns. Travis also helped organize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1960 march on Chicago.

“I had never experienced the kind of camaraderie and spirit that existed [at Roosevelt] between white folks and blacks, it was unlike anything that was going on in the country,” Travis told the Chicago Tribune.

Travis founded several successful real estate and mortgage companies. As an activist and business owner, he fought redlining practices that discriminated against African American communities. He was also a prolific writer, the founder of the Urban Research Press, and an accomplished jazz musician.

Filed Under: 1940s Tagged With: activist, Civil Rights Activist, Dempsey Travis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harold Washington, Roosevelt University

Coretta Scott King gives the Commencement address

July 21, 2020 by Heather Hartmann Leave a Comment

1971

coretta king

After the assassination of her husband Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Coretta Scott King took on a prominent leadership role in the civil rights movement. She challenged injustice and advocated for women’s rights as she sought to uphold her husband’s legacy.

The activist and author addressed Roosevelt graduates at Commencement in 1971. University president Rolf Weil presented her with the Leadership for Freedom Award.

Filed Under: 1970s Tagged With: activist, author, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Movement, Commencement, Coretta Scott King, Leadership for Freedom Award, Martin Luther King Jr., Rolf Weil, Women's Rights

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