Charles Morris of Bloomington will be remembered for his decades-long fight for racial justice

A civil rights pioneer from Bloomington will be remembered as a respected and thoughtful leader who fought for racial justice for decades.

Charles Morris, longtime faculty member and community leader at Illinois State University, recently died at the age of 92.

In a 2023 interview with WGLT, Morris said he had seen great progress toward racial equality over the years, but said there was still a long way to go.

“There are still people who deny that systemic racism exists,” Morris said.

The Social Justice Library at ISU's Multicultural Center is named for Charles and Jeanne Morris, his wife of 67 years and a longtime ISU faculty member. They were named McLean County History Makers in 2017.

The McLean County Museum of History pointed out in a social media post that when the Morrises arrived at ISU in 1996, where he taught math, they faced racial discrimination in housing and other areas of life in the Twin Cities.

“People put up their signs saying 'for rent.' We went and expressed our interest. To no avail,” Morris recalled in this 2023 interview. “One owner met us at the driveway and told us, 'No, go away.'”

The Morrises later advocated for African-American students to have access to off-campus housing.

They were also involved in numerous charities in Bloomington-Normal, including The Bady Fold, Habitat for Humanity, Heartland Head Start and Western Avenue Community Center.

A celebration in Morris' honor is planned for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church of Normal. Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m.