The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. never served as a pastor in an Evanston church. Rosa Parks never organized a bus boycott in the city, either.
But James Turner did lead a more than 100-person strong protest at Northwestern.
As Black History Month rolls around in a few days, there will be a focus on some of the famous leaders of the emancipation and civil rights movements — people such as Harriet Tubman and Malcom X. These men and women, however, are not the only significant sources of black history.
Mayor Lorraine H. Morton grew up in North Carolina. As a black woman, she grew up learning about the history of culture and went on trips to Virginia to visit her own family background. Although not an Evanston native, she considers the words of her father to relate to the black community in the city, and his message reminds her of why the month-long celebration is needed.
“You can’t feel who you are,” she recalled her father saying, “unless you know where you came from.”
The story of Turner and the May 1968 protest — a day The Daily editorialized at the time as “perhaps the most momentous in Northwestern’s momentous years” — is one of only many stories in the city. Shortly following King’s death, students issued demands to rectify what they saw as disparities. After a 38-hour sit-in, the university agreed to some of the demands, which resulted in the creation of the Black House.
Evanston has its own rich history beyond the university. Longtime residents might remember the now-demolished Community Hospital of Evanston, which served the black community when no others would. There are names like Roosevelt Alexander, an Evanston alderman in the early 1970s, who took office saying it finally was bringing equal representation to the city. While he was in office, he issued two complaints of police misconduct related to his race.
My experience in Evanston is much different than those civil rights leaders, as I am neither black nor an established city resident. Many in the area could likely remember a much richer history of Evanston’s black community than I can. But just because one did not experience the past does not mean one should not celebrate and learn from it. After all, most NU students who have lobbied for a full day of in honor of King probably have never heard him speak.
Evanston is a city still steeped in racial issues. At NU the instances of graffiti Spring Quarter featuring a hanged black person is a sign the university still has a long way to go to resolving racial issues.
Beyond the university grounds, race remains a factor in nearly every sector of the city. Evanston has a black population constituting about 22.5 percent of the city’s total, according to the 2000 Census. Its black sector is larger than Skokie’s, with 4.5 percent, or Wilmette’s, with 0.6 percent. Even Evanston’s census numbers are deceiving, however, because further investigation would show the majority of black residents in the south and west ends of the city — with the white residents in the more affluent east and north.
At the Evanston Civic Center, the city government regularly deals with issues related to affordable housing and economic disparities in the city. In Evanston/Skokie School District 65, the fact that all elementary and middle school children are bused out of the Fifth Ward to preserve the city’s 60 percent guideline is proof enough that racial issues are not resolved. Isn’t it enough that District 65 needs a goal that no schools have one race constituting 60 percent of the total?
Instead of the national figures, February could come around again with a focus on the local issues. If Evanston chooses to do so, it could truly understanding where it came from as a city — and where it is could go.
Maybe then Evanston can feel what it is.
Assistant City Editor Matt Lopas is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
