City Colleges of Chicago has announced a new scholarship and fellowship program in honor of Timuel D. Black Jr.
The Timuel D. Black Jr. Scholarship and Fellowship program was inspired by Black's extraordinary career, lifelong commitment to social justice in Chicago and his activism.
According to CCC News, 20 City Colleges students will be selected and the application deadline is April 15. Applicants are required, among other things, to be enrolled for classes in both the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 semesters at City Colleges of Chicago. In addition, they are to have an interest in civil rights and community involvement. Lastly, they must be a person with the desire to invoke change.
Juan Salgado, chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, spoke highly of Black as he served to be an inspiring community leader.
"Timuel D. Black was a deeply beloved public servant and educator," Salgado said. "He is an inspiration to people across our city and country, including me, and that is why I wanted to honor Mr. Black’s memory with a fellowship that will help to cultivate generations of future Chicago civic and social justice leaders."
A leader of many skills, Black was a City Colleges professor and also taught at Chicago Public Schools. He was an activist, educator, historian and beloved elder statesman and griot of Chicago's Black community throughout his life.
In addition, he pioneered an organized march among Chicago residents during the Civil Rights movement. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Chicago to protest housing difficulties for West Side residents, Black helped organize thousands of Chicagoans to participate in the historic March on Washington.
His wife of 40 years, Zenobia Johnson-Black, shared that she is often met with the question of where more leadership can be found. She is proud to acknowledge City Colleges of Chicago as a notable place.
“People often ask me, ‘Where are the next Tim Blacks?’ Now I can say with confidence: At City Colleges of Chicago – being encouraged, educated and standing ready to make a difference, this makes my heart glad,” Black-Johnson said.