By John Gutierrez-Mier
But Black’s daring and gutsy messages often have proved to be too powerful to be contained within the brick and mortar of his East Side church, and he has emerged as one of the premier spokesmen for San Antonio’s African-American community.
“When I first returned to San Antonio after attending divinity school, I became involved in civil rights issues and set up picket lines wherever blacks were not welcomed,” Black said as he reflected on 49 years in the pulpit.
Black will step down from his pulpit May 1, and this time he said he means it.
“I’ve retired in the past, but I was asked by the congregation to come back,” he said. “This time, my decision will not change.”
Trinity University history Profession Char Miller characterized Black as an exemplary person who came from a tradition of strong black ministers and one who will not be able to remove himself entirely from the public eye.
“He strikes me as a person who is not going to retire from reaching out. He certainly has his place in this city’s history,” Miller said.
Black has been the voice of the city’s African-American community on and off the City Council, Miller said.
“He’s a potent individual and a remarkably shrewd politician who used City Council as a bully pulpit to achieve equality for African-Americans.
After graduating from Douglass High School in 1933, he enrolled at St. Phillip’s College and transferred two years later to Morehouse College, a black men’s college in Atlanta.
Black earned a bachelor’s degree there in 1937. Three years later, he went to Andover Newton Theological Seminary in Massachusetts, returning to San Antonio in 1943 after earning a master’s degree in divinity.
“My ministry has been one that has not been confined to the walls of institutions. Being in the ministry is not about making people comfortable, it’s about dealing with the uncomfortable,” the 81-year-old minister said.
Delivering such messages has earned Black both friends and enemies, but he never has shied away from a fight.
Injustices to minorities, specifically African-Americans, prompted him to run for the City Council in 1863 and again in 1865. He lost both times but didn’t lose sight of the prize.
Back then, it was open voting. There were no single voting districts like there are now,” Black said. “There was tremendous control by the Good Government League. But I managed to garner their support and won in 1973.”
The GGL was the clearinghouse of San Antonio’s powerful business community for control of city politics.
Through the ups and downs of his public service career, his congregation stood behind Black, and he credited its loyalty in spite of his political losses as the No. 1 reason the GGL tapped him as a candidate in 1973.
“That told me that there were people in San Antonio that could look beyond color and give everyone an equal piece of the pie,” Black said. “If I had it my way, I’d almost insist that every minister serve in public office so that when he came up to the pulpit, he wouldn’t be living in a world that he created for himself.”
Before single-member districts were implemented in 1977, the mayor was elected by the council, with the GGL often calling the shots. Black bucked the group in 1973 and backed Charles Becker for a two-year-term as mayor.
Becker rewarded Black with appointment as mayor pro tem, a largely ceremonial post but a breakthrough nonetheless.
“I think in particular, as far as his character is concerned, he’s strong-willed and a man of high integrity,” Becker said of his council colleague. “He is a man of his work, and I’ve never known him to get into anything halfheartedly. He always gets to the point.”
Becker recalled his first meeting with Black at Sutton Funeral Home in 1973.
He walked in and looked at me, then said, “What have you very done for anyone?” He laid it out right on the table, and at that point I knew we would become friends”
In his second term, the league decided not to support Black, but he ran anyway as an independent, die the impossible and was re-elected. The GGL faded not long afterward.
Black was quick to recognize injustices and established extensive ties with Hispanics who also wanted a share of power that had long been a “whites only” club.
“As far back as I can remember, Reverend Black was always involved with civil rights and included both Hispanics and blacks,” said Albert Pena, a Bexar County commissioner from 1959 to 1975.
“I recall vividly in the early 1960s when Hispanics, blacks and white liberals jointed together to protest injustices in the school system,” Pena recalled. “All the teachers in the district received pay raises, but those at the lower end of the job market, such as the janitors and even secretaries, who were all minorities, were denied pay raises.”
Pena said he, Black and other community leaders formed the Bexar County Coalition, uniting Hispanics, blacks, organized labor and liberal Anglos to fight injustice in the workplace.
“Reverend Black was always willing to do what was needed,” said Pena, who considers Black one of his closet friends. “I’ve been a guest at his church numerous times. Heck, he and some of the old guys still get together every four months or so and recall all of the old days and out battle scars.”
Black’s council experience earned him a reputation as a man of integrity and attracted invitations to sit on various community boards.
The kudos kept coming, and the council in 1993 voted to name an East Side community center at 2805 E. Commerce St. in his honor.
He is cited as the force for bringing in long-awaited community developments, such as the Carve Cultural Center and the East Side Boys and Girls Club.
In spite of all the battles he fought, Black said numerous problems still plague the East Side, including the changing demographics that have converted an African-American plurality into a Hispanic majority.
“It’s important that we don’t wipe out all of the existence of the African-American community here on the East Side,” he said.
“There is a real struggle for black identity here in this city because our community is so small. The city needs our presence.”
State Respirations. Ruth Jones McClendon, a San Antonio Democrat, called Black “a physical representation of San Antonio’s African-American history.”
“He’s a visionary who was kind enough to share his wisdom with younger public officials,” McClendon said. “And as for retirement, he’s not going anywhere. There’s no such thing as retirement when it comes to Reverend Black.”
Mayor Howard Peak said he also counts himself among those who have learned from Black.
“I’m sad to hear that he is retiring soon, but I’m hopeful that he’ll still be as involved in city issues as much as he possibly can,” Peak said. “He certainly will be missed. He’s been an important figure in San Antonio’s history.”
Peak credited Black with keeping East Side issues in the forefront.
“The man himself, he understands issues and problems and gets things done,” Peak said. “It’s easy for someone to be aware of and talk about a variety of problems, but it’s totally different to have someone actually do something about them. That’s Reverend Black.”
Black said he won’t become stagnant, and he intends to spend more time on his computer.
“Retirement for a minister is an effort to relieve himself of administrative duties,” Black said. “My hope is that I’ll be able to get a Web site on my computer and communicate with other ministers worldwide. There’s still plenty of things for me to learn.”