Racial & Social Justice Are EDUCATION JUSTICE

The OEA-Retired Racial and Social Justice Committee is excited to host a Zoom talk with the civil rights activist, historian and actor, Charles Black. Let’s listen to the stories of the past so we can make plans to win education justice for our students, schools, and communities. Come listen to his story of how he stood with Dr. King and other foot soldiers to make change happen then and listen to how we can make change happen now! All OEA members are invited to join us during this discussion (OEA MEMBERS ONLY EVENT). Join Us, Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 p.m.

Charles A. Black background

Most of us have seen him on television, in commercials, stage plays and in film by the name of Charles A. Black. The quintessential actor, for over thirty years, is one of the founders of the Atlanta Student Movement which sparked the Civil Rights Movement. While a student at Morehouse College, he, along with fellow college student Lonnie C. King, Jr. and other students in the Atlanta University Center joined together and created the Committee on the Appeal of Human Rights (COAHR), fearlessly and nonviolently initiating Atlanta sit-ins to demand racial desegregation and equal rights. Black protested with Martin Luther King, Jr. at Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta Georgia during the civil rights movement. He also led demonstrations protesting the lack of black health care workers at Grady Memorial Hospital and the unacceptable conditions for black patients at Hughes Spalding Pavilion. While working in multiple roles during the Civil Rights Movement, Charles A. Black also served as one of the first editors of The Atlanta Inquirer, serving as Editor from 1962 to 1965.

Originally from Miami, Florida, Black is a resident in Georgia He is one of the industry’s busiest character actors, and his screen credits include, The Patriot (2000), Need for Speed (2014) Selma (2014) Barbara Shop: The Next Cut (2016) The Best of Enemies (2019), Love & Debt (2019), and a host of short films, commercials and local productions.

He continues to lead as a mentor to young community and political activists, as a speaker on civil and human rights around the country, and as chairman of the board of advisors at Freedom University.

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor for a Lifetime of Community Service by President Barack Obama.