Civil rights activist and Chicago historian Timuel D. Black, AM’54, 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 Arsima Araya, the first recipient of Black’s namesake Community Solidarity Scholarship, an initiative led by UChicago’s Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity, continues that legacy.
After identifying a gap on campus, the rising fourth-year College student is working to better connect Black students, alumni, faculty and the local community.
Schultz, senior lecturer in Humanities (Philosophy) and director of the Civic Knowledge Project, said Araya was the “very clear winner” for the selection committee.
“[Black] wanted to see students at the University of Chicago organizing,” Schultz said. “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.”
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