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Roberta was born in Thomson, Georgia in 1927. She was the fourth of nine children born to Mary and Henry Wilson. Her parents' motto was: “Whatever you undertake, always do your very best.” This teaching has inspired Roberta throughout her whole life. Roberta lived in Chicago for 80 years and has been an active member of TUC for 63 of those years. She has been involved in many outreach committees, leagues and movements, including the Civil Rights Movement. She was a part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. March on Washington in 1963. The MLK movement brought her in contact with TUC when Dr. King moved to Chicago in 1965 at the invitation of the Chicago Freedom Movement. Once a member, she became a co-founder in 1974 of the Austin Scholarship Program now called Austin Scholars Awards Program. She was a paraprofessional in the Chicago Public Schools for 33 years. Roberta has been a union delegate at the city, state, and national levels. Even after retirement in 2001, she continued to be an active delegate of the Chicago Teachers Union until 2021. Then, Roberta stayed active with CTU as a Sargent-at-Arms for general meetings. Roberta was inducted into the Chicago Senior Citizens Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Senior Illinoisans Hall of Fame in 2011. In addition to church ministry and CTU, Roberta was involved with many social service organizations and community leaders, such as her block club, the CAPS program, union advocacy, the League of Women Voters, and government officials at the city, county, state, and federal levels.
Roberta Wilson Celebration of Life Order of Service.pdf
Ms. Wilson Memorial Speech presented by Class of 2022 Austin Scholar Saliyah As-Salaam
Hello everyone,
My name is Saliyah As-Salaam and I am a proud Austin Scholar. I graduated from Whitney Young High School in 2022, and this past May, I received my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
I’ve known Ms. Wilson since I was a little girl. She would always walk down the street to visit my grandma. Come to our block parties, check in to see how I was doing in school, and she was always willing to go out of her way to help people. I remember coming to the Austin scholars award programs with my grandma when I was younger. I was in awe by the dedication and commitment that Ms. Wilson had not only to the Austin community but to the youth who grew up there. She always told my mom “when your girls get old enough have them apply!!” And when I finally got old enough, I did. I vividly remember my Austin Scholars interview. She had me walk down to her house and do the interview with her in her living room. When I got the scholarship she told me “this is your money, use it to help you with whatever you need at school. Just don’t use this money to buy ripped jeans”. Man she hated ripped jeans.
But that moment says so much about who Ms. Wilson was. She cared about the big things, but she also cared about the little things. She cared about whether we were succeeding in school, whether we had what we needed, and whether we were making good decisions. She paid attention. She showed up. And she made sure that the young people in her community knew that somebody was looking out for them.
Looking back now as a college graduate, I’m even more honored and grateful for the support I received from Ms. Wilson and from this church. You all always made me feel like I had a community behind me—a community that genuinely wanted to see me succeed. And that meant more to me than you will ever understand.
And I know I’m not the only Austin Scholar who feels that way. The lives that Ms. Wilson touched through this scholarship program and her life’s work were truly impacted for the better.
She was an advocate for the West Side. She helped so many Black and brown children when other people were afraid to. She spoke her mind what was right, no matter what backlash she might receive. She was a fiesty, but caring and determined woman and she stood firmly on what she believed in.
And what makes her life so remarkable to me is that she didn't just talk about helping the community, she spent decades doing it. She did the hands on work that people were and still are afraid to do.
Since the very beginning of the Austin Scholars program, she kept showing up. Year after year.
Student after student. Generation after generation.
Ms. Wilson lived 99 years, but I think her legacy is much bigger than the number of years she lived. Her legacy lives in the students she supported. It lives in the families she encouraged. It lives in the community she fought for. And it lives in every Austin Scholar who was given an opportunity because she believed they deserved one.
I am one of those scholars.
So as I stand here today as a college graduate, I know that I am standing here in part because people like Ms. Wilson believed in young people like me.
I hope that the best way we can honor her is by continuing what she started—by showing up for our communities, investing in our young people, advocating for those who need someone in their corner, and making sure that the next generation knows that somebody believes in them.
Oh, what a life she lived.
Ms. Wilson, you will be deeply missed, but your hard work and legacy will never be forgotten. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for showing up for us. And thank you for everything you gave to this community.
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