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A celebration of 75 years of Roosevelt University

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Civil Rights

Timuel Black

April 6, 2020 by Heather Hartmann Leave a Comment

Civil Rights Leader, Oral Historian | BA Sociology, ’52

Timuel Black

Timuel Black, who recently celebrated his 101st birthday, has dedicated his life to civil rights advocacy. He helped to bring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Chicago and organized thousands of Chicago protestors at the 1963 March on Washington. As an educator, Black helped end segregation in Chicago Public Schools.

“Roosevelt was the first university that publicly made it clear they wanted an integrated college,” Black said. “A reason to go to Roosevelt was because it was so openly inclusive, but the faculty were of such a superior quality that they were the reason to stay.”

Filed Under: 1950s Tagged With: Chicago Public Schools, Civil Rights, Civil Rights Leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., educator, Roosevelt University, Timuel Black

James Forman

April 6, 2020 by Heather Hartmann Leave a Comment

Civil Rights Leader | BA Public Administration, ’56

James Forman

Often on the front lines of desegregation, James Forman mobilized activists in the South during the civil rights era.

Forman served as Roosevelt’s student council president. In the 1960s, he became executive secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the youth “shock troops” of the civil rights movement. He led voter registration drives and joined Martin Luther King Jr.’s Freedom Rides.

Filed Under: 1950s Tagged With: Civil Rights, Civil Rights Leader, James Forman, Martin Luther King Jr., student council president, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

Black Student Association

June 25, 2020 by Heather Hartmann Leave a Comment

Student Organization | Formed 1967

Black Student Association

Roosevelt students formed the Black Student Association at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1969, the group held class disruptions to teach black studies and staged a 150 student sit-in at the president’s office to demand a black studies program. The BSA invited leaders like Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, and Haki R. Madhubuti, an author and publisher at Third World Press, to speak on campus.

Filed Under: 1960s Tagged With: Black Panther Party, Black Student Association, Civil Rights, Haki R. Madhubuti, Third World Press

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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