Growing connections and reflecting the legacy of Timuel D. Black

Undergraduate Arsima Araya developed the UChicago Black Council’s Community Conversation series, which fosters a network of students, faculty, alumni, and neighbors.

By Sarah Steimer

Civil rights activist and Chicago historian Timuel D. Black gracefully walked the difficult line of being critical of educational institutions while also working to improve them, according to his longtime friend and colleague Bart Schultz. Now, the first recipient of Black’s namesake Community Solidarity Scholarship, an initiative led by the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, continues that legacy. After identifying a gap on campus, rising senior Arsima Araya is working to better connect Black students, alumni, faculty, and the local community.

Schultz, Senior Lecturer in Humanities (Philosophy) and Director of the Office of Civic Engagement's Civic Knowledge Project, says Araya was the “very clear winner” for the selection committee, adding that it was evident she did her homework on Black.

“He (Black) wanted to see students at the University of Chicago organizing,” Schultz says. “And Arsima is really doing that with the University of Chicago Black Council and launching the Community Conversation series, which will invite members of the Chicago community, alumni, and neighborhood participants to engage in meaningful discussions about issues important to the larger university community. I think that is precisely the kind of thing Tim would have loved.”

Araya, who is working toward her degree in Global Studies & Law, Letters & Society, says she didn’t know much about Black until learning about the scholarship — but was aware of his impact on the community. She was in her first year at UChicago when Black passed away at the age of 102, with a public memorial service held at Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. She recalls it being near-impossible to get past the crowds on campus.

“Getting the opportunity to learn more about him and his relationship with the university, I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I would love to honor him with this work,’” Araya says of her efforts with the council. “He was such a vital component of that merged identity that I am really passionate about: Black UChicago and engaging the community.”

Araya’s parents are immigrants from Eritrea in East Africa, and her father befriended a South Side man, who Araya says helped him understand what it meant to be Black in the U.S. Although he passed away prior to Araya’s acceptance to the university, the friend often voiced his desire for Araya to attend UChicago because he never felt welcomed on the campus. With this in mind, Araya has worked throughout her UChicago career to educate herself on the tensions and sensitivities between the university and community, particularly through organizations like the Community Service Center.

She also joined the Organization of Black Students (OBS), where she helped develop the idea of the University of Chicago Black Council. The group is a collaborative effort of OBS, African and Caribbean Student Association, University of Chicago Association of Black Alumni, various undergraduate and graduate Registered Student Organizations, faculty, staff, and members of the community.

“I was frustrated because I go to a world class institution and I don't know who the Black faculty are unless they’re my teachers; I want to be a lawyer but I don't know any Black law students; I want to be more engaged in the community but I don't know where I can go to get more resources on how to be engaged or work with specific organizations that are in alignment with me,” she says. “I saw that gap and I said, ‘Well, why don't we fill it?’”

Araya says it has been a team and community effort to break down communication barriers internally, and then reflect that externally. The goal itself was simple: Have a chance to meet up and talk, which is how the idea for the UChicago Black Conference came to be.

Part of this is the Community Conversation series. The inaugural conversation was on arts and advocacy, featuring 2022 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Amanda Williams, ‘92, and Patric McCoy, ’69, a renowned Black art collector. The Community Solidarity Scholarship will help fund more of these conversations, paying for speakers and food for attendees.

“We want to bring those back because we found it has really engaged our student population and allows for a continuous conversation,” Araya says, adding that an eventual goal is to have a dedicated community center as well. “It's about making those temporary spaces until we can achieve the broader vision.”

She adds that the coalition hopes to emulate Black’s spirit in what they do. “He was a web of knowledge,” she says. “Once those connections pass away, and you don't have a succession plan, you lose so much wealth of knowledge. My hope is that with this project, we can archive connections to (Timuel) and make sure that we don't lose these Black icons, these monumental leaders, and lose all their work and their legacies.”

Schultz says that in his time as director of the Civic Knowledge Project, from 2003 to 2023, he worked with many terrific community partners, “but no one more impressive than Timuel Black.” Black had a long history on the South Side and became a legendary figure as a Chicago mentor, working with the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harold Washington, and Barack Obama. He could have a “magnetic interaction” with people at any level, Schultz says, recalling Black taking incoming UChicago undergraduates on visits to Bronzeville to explore their new neighborhoods.

“We're always deeply admiring of his extraordinary talent for listening and communicating and being a real bridge builder,” Schultz says. “The Community Conversation series and things like that have such an important role to play. I know any number of people who are anxious to participate — including Tim's widow Zenobia (Johnson-Black) and other members of the Tim Black Education Foundation.”