The first annual Timuel D. Black essay contest, the brainchild of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) board member Tony Dunbar, aims to help local high school students connect with and reflect upon the life and legacy of longtime educator, activist and historian Timuel Black.

Students wrote essays in response to prompts provided by the BMRC, which were formulated by a committee that included Dunbar, Marcia Walker-McWilliams, Chicago Public Schools teachers Ira Abrams and Alayna Washington, Zenobia Johnson Black (Timuel Black’s widow) and Bart Schultz of the Civic Knowledge Project at the University of Chicago.

‍

Honoring the life and legacy of Timuel Black — an educator, organizer, activist, and historian who contributed to and celebrated Chicago's rich African American history

Community members, educators, friends, and creatives will gather on to celebrate and amplify the legacy of the late Dr. Timuel D. Black (Dec. 7, 1918-Oct. 13, 2021). The occasion will serve as a meet and greet reception to bring together those actively working to carry on Black’s legacy of civic activism, oral history, and educational reform in the pursuit of social justice.

Panelists include Sherry Williams (Bronzeville Historical Society), Bill Tuttle (historian and author of the book Race Riot: Chicago in the Red Summer of 1919), Robert Loerzel (journalist and author of "Searching for Eugene Williams), and Lorenzo Young (educator and master storyteller). Special guest Prof. Timuel D. Black, author of Sacred Ground, will be in the house!

Join SSHMP founder and director Jacqueline Stewart for a screening and discussion of films related to Martin Luther King, Jr. from our collection, as part of The MLK Initiative, a collaboration between the UChicago Civic Knowledge Project and the RainbowPUSH Coalition designed to showcase and critically assess the ongoing importance of King’s philosophy of nonviolence.