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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF CLARENCE N. WOOD, JR.
WHEREAS, Clarence N Wood, Jr. was born April 14, 1940 in Birmingham, Alabama to Dr. Clarence N Wood, Sr and Lucille Fleming Wood. As a child, Mr. Wood and his parents spent a time on their family farm in Sulligent, Alabama and summers in Chicago with family. Mr. Wood grew up in the Jim Crow South and was keenly aware of the racial injustices of the South. Mr. Wood also knew the key role education played to change the negative narrative of the South; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wood attended Carrie C. Tuggle elementary school and A.H. Parker high school in Birmingham and was an early entrant to Fisk University at age 15. Mr. Wood studied Law at the University of Iowa Law School on a scholarship provided by the State of Alabama designed to prevent black people from attending southern white universities; and
WHEREAS, driven by the outrageous racial inequities he witnessed in his youth, Mr. Wood joined the vanguard in the fight for civil rights, served as a beacon of hope for countless people, and advocated for people who are unseen; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Wood began his early career in the Public and Child Welfare Division, laying the foundation for a lifetime dedicated to the welfare of the most vulnerable. Mr. Wood was the first African American group worker with the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago exemplifying his commitment to building bridges across communities. Mr. Wood's journey with the National Urban League began in 1964 and epitomized his passionate commitment, which spanned nearly a quarter of a century.
WHEREAS, in 1967, at age 27 in the amidst of the tumult of the Civil Rights Movement, Mr. Wood answered the call to return to Birmingham to spearhead the Urban League's fight for equity in his home state. Mr. Wood became Vice President of Field Operations, and later Vice President for External Affairs for Birmingham's Urban League chapter. Subsequently, Mr. Wood tran...
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