NEW SHRINE NAMES ITS FIRST MEMBER
Timuel Black an activist, historian, community leader
A newly launched Illinois Black Hall of Fame has honored its first inductee, and Governors State University was named the site of a future display recognizing all of those who receive the distinction.
Plans for the hall of fame were announced during a virtual news conference Friday, and that Timuel Black will be the first inductee. Black, 102, is an activist, historian and community leader.
“He’s had a front-row seat to history for 102 years,” said Richard Boykin, an attorney and former Cook County commissioner who is serving as the general chairperson for the hall’s advisory committee. “He’s been part of the change.”
A virtual Juneteenth Gala Celebration at the University Park school is to be dedicated in Black’s honor, and a display featuring portraits of the inductees is to be housed by Governors State.
At the celebration June 19
there may be another nine inductees, Boykin said.
“The Juneteenth Gala Celebration will be out of this world,” Boykin said. “I’m excited. I’m fired up. I’m ready to go.”
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, DChicago, honorary chairperson of the hall of fame, was joined in the Zoom announcement by U.S. Rep Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, University Park Mayor Joseph Roudez, Governors State University President Cheryl Green and Ceola Davis Barnes, president of the African-American Ladies’ Legacy Foundation. Davis said Barnes, his sister who is a retired principal and educator, came up with the idea.
Kelly called the effort a “shrine to African American achievement and excellence.” She said it is something that will amplify Chicago’s Southland and inspire through leadership.
“I salute Dr. Barnes for all of her work to make this a reality,” Kelly said. “The Illinois Black Hall of Fame is an idea whose time has come.”
Boykin said Barnes had the idea for the hall of fame for a few years, but Barnes said it came together over the past month after she asked him to get involved with an aim to launch during February, Black History Month.
Boykin said he was happy to accept the invitation, and his desire was driven by the potential to inspire young people.
“It’s an opportunity to preserve our past, celebrate our present and inspire generations to come,” Boykin said. “Hopefully, things like this will help to inspire, motivate, activate.”
Boykin grew up in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood and attended Chicago Vocational High School.
He said a visit from Chicago Mayor Harold Washington while he was a student inspired him to get involved with public service.
He said he hopes others will find similar motivation as they learn about the inductees and visit the display, which will feature portraits along the walls of Governors State.
“I think they, too, will be inspired by the accomplishments of these individuals,” Boykin said. “I think it will have a real, positive impact on the community.”
Boykin acknowledged that while he had a backup plan, a call to Green was the first he made.
He thought it was important the display for the hall be housed in the Southland. He said he hopes it draws people not only to the region but to the school in particular.
“The Southland, as far as I know, doesn’t have anything like this,” Boykin said. “I thought it was important that Governors State played a part.”
Green, in a news release announcing the hall, said the vision “goes to the heart of the university’s goals to recognize those who have shown resilience, self-determination and excellence.”
She said that Governors State’s mission is to provide accessible education and inspire its students, some of whom may pursue the same vocations as those to be featured in the hall.
“The Illinois Black Hall of Fame’s mission to honor and preserve the legacy of notable African Americans from the state of Illinois will offer hope to our children, community and all of those who will visit the Hall of Fame in-person or virtually,” Green said.
Roudez said he thinks the “heart of University Park” is a great place for the hall. He also thinks it could bring attention and tourism.
But the mission is greater than that.
“As a student of history, we know it is important for all to preserve it,” he said. “Those who fail to know their history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller said it is another attraction to make the university a destination.
“Governors State has so many hidden treasures,” Miller said.
The Illinois Black Hall of Fame was designed to honor the work and legacies of notable African Americans from Illinois, according to the announcement.
Boykin said they are considering all Black Illinois trailblazers but especially those who may have been overlooked.
A video played during announcement offered an overview of Black’s accomplishments. He moved to Chicago in 1919 with his family and settled in the Bronzeville neighborhood, where he still lives today.
He got started with activism in high school, protesting a segregated workforce. He championed the work of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and was involved in the election of Harold Washington, Chicago’s first African American mayor.
Black, who was on the Zoom call with his wife, Zenobia Johnson-Black, said he was grateful to be recognized and that he appreciates the goal of inspiring younger generations.
“The future, in many ways, is in their hands,” Black said. “They have that responsibility not only to be successful but to inspire, by example, others to join hands to make this a better world.”
Johnson-Black said they have been married for 40 years, and she was grateful to see her husband recognized.
“I believe that it is well deserved,” she said.
“I have seen firsthand, up close, his commitment, dedication, putting the community first. His activism.”
“I want the world to remember me as a person who spent almost all of his life being prepared to help others,” Black said.