Timuel Black: What is Africa to Me?

Timuel Black

Download Timuel Black: What Is Africa to Me (10:00)

Timuel Black is a revered and highly respected educator, political activist, community leader, oral historian and philosopher.

Born in Birmingham,  AL , Timuel D. Black, Jr. came to Chicago before he was a year old. Educated at Chicago’s Burke Elementary School and DuSable High School.

Black was drafted into the Army during World War II. Upon discharge, he returned to school and studied to became a social worker, eventually earning a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. A passionate educator, Black has taught at a variety of Chicago area high schools, colleges and universities.

A pioneer in the independent black political movement, Black coined the phrase “plantation politics.” Black has spent his life furthering the cause of social justice. He completed a book, Bridges of Memory: Chicago’s First Wave of Great Migration, which book chronicles black Chicago history from the 1920s to the present, and is based on interviews he conducted.