The Little Black Boy Who Dared to Dream and Grew to Lead

About the Book

Compiled in this publication are interviews with community members and residents of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who lived through historical moments in the city’s history and many of whom fought voraciously for the rights of Black people in Philadelphia and beyond. Each of these interviews sheds light on these historical moments and details how each person helped shape the trajectory of Philadelphia. These oral histories allow us to understand the events of the past from a first-hand perspective and remain connected with those interviewed. Each of these interviews contributes to the broader history of Philadelphia and recognizes the lasting legacy of each of the interviewees.

About the Author

After a tumultuous juvenile life, Professor Palmer graduated from high school and was hired by the University of Pennsylvania hospital as a surgical attendant and was eventually recruited by the University of Pennsylvania School of Inhalation and Respiratory (Oxygen) Therapy. After his certification as an inhalation and respiratory therapist, he was hired by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as the Director of the Department of Inhalation and Respiratory (Oxygen) Therapy, where he spent 10 years helping to develop the national field of cardiopulmonary therapy. In 1955, Palmer created the Palmer Foundation and the Black People’s University of Philadelphia Freedom School and would spend the next 70 years developing leaders for social justice nationally. Professor Palmer has also pursued further education at Temple University for Business Administration and Communications, Cheyney State University for a Teacher’s Degree in History and Secondary Education. And at age 40, acquired his juris doctorate in law from Howard University. Between 1965 and 1995, he produced and hosted radio programs on Philadelphia WDAS, Atlantic City WUSS, and WFPG Radio, in addition to Philadelphia NBC TV 10 and New Jersey Suburban Cable Television. In 2006, he was inducted into the Philadelphia College of Physicians as a Fellow for the body of work he had done over the past 70 years, after having spent ten (1980-1990) years as a licensed financial officer teaching poor people how to overcome poverty by saving and investing three dollars per day. During that entire period, Professor Palmer led the Civil Rights, Black Power and Afrocentric movements in Philadelphia, around the country as well as the Caribbean and West Indies. In the 1980s to 2015, he led the school choice movement, organized a state-wide parental school choice group which collected 500,000 petitions in 1997, which were used to create a charter and cyber school law in Pennsylvania, and in 2000 the Walter D. Palmer School was named after him. In 1962, he created a school without walls on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus and became a visiting lecturer in the Schools of Medicine, Law, Education, Business, History, Africana Studies, and Engineering, and he currently is a lecturer in the Schools of Medicine, Social Work, and Urban Studies, where he teaches courses on American racism. In 1969, he helped the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Social Work students and faculty create required courses on American racism, making the University of Pennsylvania the first school in American academia to have such courses. In 2019, Professor Palmer was appointed to the President’s Commission on commemorating the 400-year (1619) anniversary of American slavery. Over his many years of teaching, he has received the title of Teacher Par Excellence and has amassed over 1,000 medals, trophies, plaques, certificates, and awards for participation in multiple disciplines.