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Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black
Timuel Black is an acclaimed historian, activist, and storyteller. Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black chronicles the life and times of this Chicago legend.
Sacred Ground opens in 1919, during the summer of the Chicago race riot, when infant Black and his family arrive in Chicago from Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the first Great Migration. He recounts in vivid detail his childhood and education in the Black Metropolis of Bronzeville and South Side neighborhoods that make up his "sacred ground."
Revealing a priceless trove of experiences, memories, ideas, and opinions, Black describes how it felt to belong to this place, even when stationed in Europe during World War II. He relates how African American soldiers experienced challenges and conflicts during the war, illuminating how these struggles foreshadowed the civil rights movement. A labor organizer, educator, and activist, Black captures fascinating anecdotes and vignettes of meeting with famous figures of the times, such as Duke Ellington and Martin Luther King Jr., but also with unheralded people whose lives convey lessons about striving, uplift, and personal integrity.
Rounding out this memoir, Black reflects on the legacy of his friend and mentee, Barack Obama, as well as on his public works and enduring relationships with students, community workers, and some very influential figures in Chicago and the world.
Sacred Ground opens in 1919, during the summer of the Chicago race riot, when infant Black and his family arrive in Chicago from Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the first Great Migration. He recounts in vivid detail his childhood and education in the Black Metropolis of Bronzeville and South Side neighborhoods that make up his "sacred ground."
Revealing a priceless trove of experiences, memories, ideas, and opinions, Black describes how it felt to belong to this place, even when stationed in Europe during World War II. He relates how African American soldiers experienced challenges and conflicts during the war, illuminating how these struggles foreshadowed the civil rights movement. A labor organizer, educator, and activist, Black captures fascinating anecdotes and vignettes of meeting with famous figures of the times, such as Duke Ellington and Martin Luther King Jr., but also with unheralded people whose lives convey lessons about striving, uplift, and personal integrity.
Rounding out this memoir, Black reflects on the legacy of his friend and mentee, Barack Obama, as well as on his public works and enduring relationships with students, community workers, and some very influential figures in Chicago and the world.
216 pages, Paperback
Published January 15, 2019
10 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Timuel D. Black Jr.
3 books6 followersTimuel Dixon Black Jr. was an American educator, civil rights activist, historian and author. A native of Alabama, Black was raised in Chicago, Illinois and studied the city's African American history.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 8, 2020
Timuel Black always told his students: “You come from people. You are somebody. Trouble don’t last forever.” In his mind, you needed every last bit of optimism to keep fighting. This book is like sitting down with Timuel over a period of time and him just telling you stuff from his life and boy, this guy lived quite the life. His grandparents were still of the slave generation, his family moved from Birmingham to Chicago for a better life. And he recounts his “sacred grounds” as in the places and spaces that shaped him. A short book, a quick read, but fascinating and insightful and I think if you are American, probably 100 times more so. I must have missed out on a lot of references simply because I am not American. @nupress always publishes interesting books.
September 5, 2021
"I can't hear watcha sayin' because watcha doin' talks so loud"
This was a great book.
I'm having a hard time putting into words how I feel about this book, because it's not just a book, its not just a story. It's Timuel Blacks life. And what a life it was. He is a Historian, Emeritus professor, World War II veteran and so much more.
From his days as a child, growing up in Chicago, Timuel grew up knowing injustice. He lived injustice.
As a young man he was drafted and sent overseas, there he saw young black soldiers, who were there risking their life like everyone else, being used as cannon fodder.
He tells a story of when the Germans dropped a bomb on an ammunition dump, and soldiers had to go in and separate the live ammunition from the exploding ammunition. Black says that it was predominantly black soldiers being selected for the task, if you refused you would get a dishonorable discharge and if you accepted, you might not come back.
Black survived the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. He thought he had seen the worst the second world war had to offer, but nothing could prepare him for the horrors he would see when he liberated prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp.
When Black returned home he vowed to dedicate his life to fighting that injustice he had seen his whole life.
And he has changed the landscape of our future.
This is an inspiring book. Some people ask the question, 'I'm just one person, what can I do. '
Reading this book it's amazing to see what one person can do.
This was a great book.
I'm having a hard time putting into words how I feel about this book, because it's not just a book, its not just a story. It's Timuel Blacks life. And what a life it was. He is a Historian, Emeritus professor, World War II veteran and so much more.
From his days as a child, growing up in Chicago, Timuel grew up knowing injustice. He lived injustice.
As a young man he was drafted and sent overseas, there he saw young black soldiers, who were there risking their life like everyone else, being used as cannon fodder.
He tells a story of when the Germans dropped a bomb on an ammunition dump, and soldiers had to go in and separate the live ammunition from the exploding ammunition. Black says that it was predominantly black soldiers being selected for the task, if you refused you would get a dishonorable discharge and if you accepted, you might not come back.
Black survived the Normandy invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. He thought he had seen the worst the second world war had to offer, but nothing could prepare him for the horrors he would see when he liberated prisoners from the Buchenwald concentration camp.
When Black returned home he vowed to dedicate his life to fighting that injustice he had seen his whole life.
And he has changed the landscape of our future.
This is an inspiring book. Some people ask the question, 'I'm just one person, what can I do. '
Reading this book it's amazing to see what one person can do.
January 23, 2019
Read it as research for work. Enjoyable, opinionated, and informative.
January 20, 2026
For weeks, my family planned to celebrate MLK’s birthday formally, with an event honoring his legacy and the sacrifices he made to ensure the freedoms we enjoy in the United States. I researched locations, scouted volunteer opportunities, and found the perfect event at a local library. We got dressed, verified the address in Google Maps, and were eager to celebrate King’s legacy with others. But first, we had to make a stop.
My elderly neighbor, Ms. Mildred, was celebrating her 80th birthday! A daughter of Tennessee, Ms. Mildred migrated from the South to the Midwest in search of opportunity. As a child-free, single woman, she found work as a truck driver, an operator for a local utility company, and as a home care worker. She also found time to marry her love of travel and music, singing in choirs worldwide. Ms. Mildred is 80 years young, still able to shovel her own driveway, and scoffs at anyone insisting she needs help. Instead, what she requires is an audience. Full of vigor and wisdom, with a sharpened sense of humor, Ms. Mildred often takes listeners on unpredictable journeys. And before you know it, you’re laughing with tears in your eyes, while she recounts the mundane with glee.
Long story short, we missed our carefully planned MLK celebration and stumbled upon something even better: a living history of MLK’s legacy. As we celebrate Dr. MLK Jr. let us remember not only what happened in the past, but the people who lived during those tumultuous times, and are still with us to share their laughter and experiences.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and our elders here are some books available to read at the Schaumburg Township District Library:
Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black by Dr. Timuel D. Black Jr. (Regular Type)
Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election by Stephen Kendrick (Regular Type)
April 4th, 1968 by Michael Eric Dyson (e-Book & Audiobook on Libby)
You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live by Paul Kix (Regular Type & e-Book on Libby)
The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement by Hajar Yazdiha (Regular Type & e-Book on Libby)
My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir by Katherine Johnson (Regular Type & e-Audiobook on Libby)
Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over Fifty by Connie Briscoe (Regular Type)
My elderly neighbor, Ms. Mildred, was celebrating her 80th birthday! A daughter of Tennessee, Ms. Mildred migrated from the South to the Midwest in search of opportunity. As a child-free, single woman, she found work as a truck driver, an operator for a local utility company, and as a home care worker. She also found time to marry her love of travel and music, singing in choirs worldwide. Ms. Mildred is 80 years young, still able to shovel her own driveway, and scoffs at anyone insisting she needs help. Instead, what she requires is an audience. Full of vigor and wisdom, with a sharpened sense of humor, Ms. Mildred often takes listeners on unpredictable journeys. And before you know it, you’re laughing with tears in your eyes, while she recounts the mundane with glee.
Long story short, we missed our carefully planned MLK celebration and stumbled upon something even better: a living history of MLK’s legacy. As we celebrate Dr. MLK Jr. let us remember not only what happened in the past, but the people who lived during those tumultuous times, and are still with us to share their laughter and experiences.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and our elders here are some books available to read at the Schaumburg Township District Library:
Sacred Ground: The Chicago Streets of Timuel Black by Dr. Timuel D. Black Jr. (Regular Type)
Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election by Stephen Kendrick (Regular Type)
April 4th, 1968 by Michael Eric Dyson (e-Book & Audiobook on Libby)
You Have to Be Prepared to Die Before You Can Begin to Live by Paul Kix (Regular Type & e-Book on Libby)
The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement by Hajar Yazdiha (Regular Type & e-Book on Libby)
My Remarkable Journey: A Memoir by Katherine Johnson (Regular Type & e-Audiobook on Libby)
Stepping Out: The Unapologetic Style of African Americans Over Fifty by Connie Briscoe (Regular Type)
April 21, 2019
Thank you, Mr. Black.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews