Prexy Nesbitt is in the top right corner in white.


Prexy Nesbitt is a natural resource. He teaches at Columbia College, speaks all over the country, consults and leads commissions all over the world with the goal of improving race relations. He is also a normal, nice guy.
His apartment is a forest of books. Bookshelves cover every wall. There are books stacked on chairs, the kitchen table, in corners, on every flat surface available. There are African artifacts from some of his 80 trips strewn across his living room with a large Nelson Mandela poster over the fireplace with the caption “There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere”, a telling comment into Mr. Nesbitt’s life.
Prexy Nesbitt was born in 1945 at Provident Hospital in Chicago, growing up on the west side during the turbulent 1960’s. He saw racism every day and fought against it at an early age.
“I grew up on the west side of Chicago when Julian Percy, a doctor, moved to Oak Park and his house was bombed and his daughter was burned. I protested it with my family at the age of 9,” said Nesbitt.
At the age of 20, Nesbitt became interested in Africa and studied abroad for a year in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in 1965-1966. He was surprised about feelings toward racism in Africa.
“In Tanzania, they didn’t think about racism like we do in the United States. They thought about apartheid in South Africa,” said Nesbitt.
Along with apartheid, people of Africa were fighting against colonialism.
“We burned a British Rolls Royce and the British flag protesting the colonialism. I was arrested and spent the night in jail. The next day the President of Tanzania sent buses to pick us up. He scolded us publicly but he gave us a wink,” said Nesbitt.
Upon his return to Chicago in 1966, he volunteered for Martin Luther King’s Chicago summer campaign “Union to End Slums”, working to end slum housing, the racism in the real estate market, and creating jobs for African-Americans by soliciting work for the unemployed.
“Dr. King’s people told me they had never seen such violence and hate in the South as there was in Chicago,” said Nesbitt.
During this time, he was still a college student at Antioch.
“My senior year I founded the Antioch Committee on South Africa protesting the school’s involvement with businesses in South Africa in the spring of 1967. We had a sit-in to protest the school,” said Nesbitt.
After graduating college, Mr. Nesbitt was involved in many things.
He helped organize and found three unions, starting in 1972.
“I was raised pro-union. My father taught me that unions brought things to us,” said Nesbitt.
In 1979, he consulted for World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, to end racism.
In 1986, Nesbitt got involved in politics, landing a job as a special assistant to the mayor of Chicago, Harold Washington.
“I worked on a special squad that answered to Mr. Washington or his top assistant,” said Nesbitt.
Mr. Nesbitt has worked nearly all his life for equality, racial or otherwise for many groups. He has helped aboriginals in Australia to the Dene in the Northwest Territory in Canada.
“You name it, Prexy’s there. For everything from Palestinian rights to gay/lesbian rights,” said Pablo Medina, Director of Intergroup Relations and Outreach, Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and longtime acquaintance.
Why does he do it?
“I was raised with a vision in a different kind of family. I have lived in many different places other than the United States. It does not have to be this way. Fair and equitable. I don’t know any other way to live,” said Nesbitt.
Mr. Nesbitt lives in Oak Park. He has two sons he spends most of his time with, Samora, 10 and Jele, 11. He also has 20 cousins living in the Chicago area.
For the past six years Mr. Nesbitt teaches African history at Columbia College as an adjunct professor. He also consults on multi-culturalism and diversity for Northeastern Illinois University, and works for the University of Chicago Laboratory School as a diversity advisor.
“He got me right away. I want to know everything he knows. I have a very high opinion of him,” said Rebekah Liteo, junior.
“Columbia College is a perfect example of the basic social pattern of America. Different groups of people going to college separating themselves living in a peaceful coexistence. There is so much to learn between the different ethnic groups,” said Nesbitt. “We are together from 9 to 5. Then the social apartheid starts.”
He also puts on “anti-racism workshops” to help promote equality.
“The initial step is to unlearn racism by critically thinking about one’s own lifestyle. The next step involves actively intervening when confronted with racism,” said Nesbitt. “It’s impossible unless a person is willing to intervene at every opportunity.”
Activity is a strong theme in Nesbitt’s solution to the race problem.
“My workshops bring people together to honestly discuss their issues with racism, and seek to learn and find solutions to the problems plaguing people around the world to this day. The bottom line for many problems is race.”
When will Prexy hang the fighting shoes up?
“[Prexy] is a permanent fighter for liberation. His stand has been unwavering,” said Myesha Jenkins, a friend, poet and cultural activist from South Africa.
“It’s easy to see his commitment towards self-determination and freedom. He’ll continue [fighting] for the rest of his life,” said Medina. “It’s a pleasure talking about him. He’s a great brother.”
For more information about Mr. Nesbitt’s causes, a deeper biography, or to inquire about an educational trip to Africa Mr. Nesbitt has a website. www.prexynesbitt.com