By Link Johnson
The Scene staff
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic “I have a dream” speech, which became a cornerstone for political and social change in the 1960s.
Forest Park sociology professor Rodney Wead remembers it well.
“We thought, ‘Now we (will) be able to realize our dream of a more equitable society,’” he said. “I think it was timed perfectly.”
Wead, 78, has a distinct advantage in teaching students about the Civil Rights Movement because he was part of it.
He participated in “sit-ins” and other demonstrations, escorted King to a lecture, worked with Stokely Carmichael, traveled the country with an activist group called Black Methodist Church Renewal and landed in jail on several occasions.
“It was just that kind of movement,” he said.
Wead has been teaching at Forest Park for 12 years. His place in history earns respect among students, according to Michael Mason, 35, president of Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He took one of his sociology classes.
“I knew I was in the shadow of something great,” Mason said.
Wead grew up poor in Omaha, Neb., where his family lived in public housing. His mother and grandmother worked as housekeepers to put food on the table.
Bobbie Davis, a friend since childhood, described him as a “go-getter” and “caring person.”
“He was always involved in the community and the church,” she said.
Wead was moved to get involved in politics by the death of Emitt Till, a black, 14-year-old killed in Mississippi for allegedly flirting with a white woman.
The year was 1955. Wead was a sophomore at Dana College in Blair, Neb., and an athlete who played basketball and ran track. He had dreams of becoming a physical therapist until he heard about the murder.
“I had to change my whole life,” said Wead, who switched to pursue a bachelor’s degree in history and education.
Most of his political activity took place in the Midwest. His wife, Vanessa, and three children joined him for demonstrations around Omaha and Kansas City, Mo.
One of Wead’s highlights was escorting King to a lecture in Lincoln, Neb.
“I had the honor of a lifetime,” he said.
Another memorable event was a protest involving Carmicheal, whom Wead called a “radical” and “an incredible man who’s philosophy changed my life.”
Gov. George Wallace, a segregationist and Independent presidential, came to Omaha for a rally in 1968. Carmichael instructed Wead and a Catholic priest on how to organize a large group of protesters.
They had barely gotten started when police swept in and arrested them.
“I’m thinking about how they trapped us,” Wead said. “They really got us good.”
He laughs about such incidents today, but back then, he was serious about fighting black inequality and injustice.
“My 20s were days of rage,” he said.
Many others were filled with anger, too, as evidenced by violent riots in Chicago and elsewhere following King’s assassination and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
That was a “tough” time, Wead said. “I didn’t think we’d get past those years.”
Wead went on to earn a master’s degree in urban studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago and a doctorate in sociology at The Union Institute in Cincinatti, Ohio.
He served as executive director of United Methodist Centers in Omaha, associate executive director of the Community Renewal Society of Chicago, executive director of the United Methodist Community Center in Omaha, associate sociology professor at Creighton University in Omaha, interim professor of black studies at University of Omaha and executive director of Neighborhood House in Columbus, Ohio.
Wead also was a businessman. He served on the board of Omaha’s first black-owned bank and helped found Reconciliation, a company that operated some of the first black-owned radio stations in the country.
“We could benefit from the white racism in those days and move to economic empowerment (because it made blacks more determined to beat the odds),” he said.
Wead moved to St. Louis in 1997 to become president and chief executive officer of Grace Hill Settlement House, a neighborhood-based social service agency.
After his retirement in 2001, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a resolution to recognize his 40 years of achievement and community service.
Wead joined the Forest Park staff in 2001. He lives in the Central West End neighborhood.
One of his biggest fans is reading professor Kathy Petroff, who remembers his kindness when her husband died, two months after she started teaching at Forest Park.
“He let me know that he cared about me and what was happening with my children from an authentic and genuine place,” she said.
“What an adorable man. I consider him a friend.”
Wead is a member of many organizations, the recipient of many awards and the author of many publications.
He was a mentor to Cathy Hughes, 66, of Washington, D.C., a black entrepreneur and founder of Radio One, a national media company that primarily targets black and urban consumers. She looks up to him.
“He’s really one of the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement,” she said. “He taught me integrity.”