Charles A. Black Honored at Atlanta City Hall

Please join us in congratulating Freedom University’s Chairman of the Board, Mr. Charles A. Black, in a long overdue recognition today at Atlanta City Hall, where he was honored with a Proclamation for his lifelong contributions to the advancement of racial justice and human rights.

Mr. Black was born in Miami, Florida in 1940. Unable to attend any segregated college in Florida, Charles moved to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College, where he became a star debater, president of his senior class, second Chairman of the Atlanta Student Movement, and one of just eight students to take the only course - a seminar in modern social philosophy- ever taught by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As a leader in the Atlanta Student Movement, Charles was instrumental in face to face negotiations with city leaders between 1960-1962 to desegregate Atlanta, including public education, public transportation, movie theaters, department stores, and even City Hall. More than sixty years later, in the same building where he once marched in the face of Klansmen for the equal dignity and rights of the city’s Black residents, he received his flowers.

In his acceptance of the proclamation in his honor, Mr. Black spoke eloquently about the need for a diverse, multiracial village able to withstand the divide and conquer strategies of the powerful. In true Charles fashion - he used his platform to raise consciousness and connect people - and highlighted the collective work of Freedom University.

He called upon staff members Dr. Laura Emiko Soltis and Gabriela Solis Gonzalez to address the large audience, share the mission of Freedom University, and educate everyone in the room on the modern segregation of undocumented student from public higher education in Georgia. But they also took the opportunity to formally thank Mr. Black on behalf of Freedom University, and immigrant and undocumented communities in Atlanta, for his tireless and lifelong dedication to creating a beloved community where all are welcome.

Thank you, Charles, for embodying love in the global struggle for human rights and dignity, and for standing on the side of justice always.