Texas blogger Bob James of CrosSwords is a an Oak Park, IL native. Sadly, his father passed away recently. Here is an excerpt from the obituary of W. Robert James Jr. that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this week:
Oak Park Realtor W. Robert James Jr. didn't believe owning a home in his neighborhood was a part of the American Dream only whites should be entitled to realize.
In the 1960s, Mr. James became the first white Realtor in Oak Park to sell a home to a black buyer, setting the stage for future integration in the western suburb.
"His feeling was anybody who had a desire to live in a village like Oak Park should have an opportunity," said Mr. James' son, W. Robert James III. "To him, it wasn't a question of race, it was a question of what was right."
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