A
Tribute to
Dr
.
Conrad Worrill
From Earthly Warrior to Ancestral Power
Those who knew him called him "Baba," which means "father."
Dr. Conrad Worrill, "Baba" to many, beloved leader, activist, and voice for justice for people of African descent around the world, has earned his wings, and has joined the community of the ancestors.
A believer in righteous indignation against systemic racism and injustices, Worrill proclaimed in his last interview on June 1st, "I am a Pan-African nationalist. I have never been much aligned with any political party but we have a maniac in the White House, and all Black people need to bury the hatchet and get Trump out of the White House."
A believer in the power of history and ancestral legacy to guide his activism and organizing, Worrill said he had been heavily influenced by Martin Delaney, David Walker and Frederick Douglass, and he was deeply influenced by Malcolm X, whom, he said, "helped internationalize the Black struggle."
His work in Chicago was legendary. He, along with Drs. Jacob Carruthers and Anderson Thompson, developed and helped build the Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies in Chicago of Northeastern Illinois University. He taught at the Center for 40 years, led the drive for a track and field stadium to be built on Chicago's South side and was the chairman emeritus of the Black United Front
and a board member and sustainer of the Black United Fund of Illinois.
"Ideas are weapons of war" was his word to young people in his last interview. "I love y'all. I was 18 once. I got to 35. I talked a lot of smack back then but I realized, as I got older, that I didn't know what the hell I was talking about." He continued, "Listen to the elders. Don't make the mistakes that we made coming out of the 60s."
In addition to being a master teacher, Worrill was a gifted and powerful organizer; his impact was global. He worked around three issues: economic empowerment of Black people, the dismantling of educational disparities, and reparations for slavery. He helped to organize the Million Man March in 1995 and organized the "Millions for Reparations March" in 2002.
The Rev. Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc. (SDPC) said that Worrill's passing "leaves a great hole in the struggle and work for the liberation of African Americans, and also, a great hole in my heart."
"The Conrad I knew was the epitome of compassion and care. He revered my first husband, a basketball star and competitor, who died at the age of 27. Through the years, he took it upon himself to give my son something few could - memories of the father he never knew. The Conrad I knew, though hidden, was full of humility and gratitude. I introduced and recommended to Jake Carruthers, my second husband, that he hire Dr. Worrill, a newly minted PhD. The rest is history. Jake, Andy and Conrad built an institution grounded in Afrocentricity and African principles of unity. He always demonstrated humility to those wise elders from whom he could learn. He remained on his post as humble student and caretaker to both Jake and Andy as they made their transition to the ancestral realm. He always was "on call" for me.
Finally, the Conrad we all knew was the embodiment of Sankofa, speaking truth and acting with unadulterated tenacity and temerity. He respected and loved the co-founder of the SDPC and considered Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. the pastor of the "movement."
Our friend, our brother, Dr. Conrad Worrill cut the pathway to make it possible for the SDPC to be housed in the historic Bronzeville offices, which we now occupy.
In his last conversation with Dr. Carruthers, his expressions of love and gratitude affirmed that he had discovered the ancestral realm and that he will never give up, even on the other side!!! He said, "the last nights from my house, I've been watching God work night and day out of my window, and God is lifting my spirit. There is a creative force of the Universe, which I have discovered that I never knew."
Dr. Worrill has left for us the footprints of one who never gave up and will now orchestrate our comings and goings with God and the Council of Ancestors. His journey into eternity is now fixed, going backwards in time to fetch the truth and prepare those yet to be born. ASÉ!
|
