A celebration of 75 years of Roosevelt University

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dempsey Travis

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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.

Timuel Black

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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.”