Chicago-Midwest

Memorial Services For Ernest Armstrong 11:00 AM on January 12th at The Quarry. Black Wall Street Leader

Posted by Mark S. Allen on January 4, 2016 at 1:52pm

Memorial Services For Ernest Armstrong 
 
11:00 AM on January 12th at The Quarry located at 
2423 E. 75th Street 
Mr. Ernest Armstrong was one of the founding officers of the first Black Wall Street Chicago/Black Wall Street Districts of Chicago Organizations founded and Chaired by Ron Carter, then publisher of The South Street Journal Newspaper. Mr. Ernest Armstrong was one of the Elder anchors of the original Black Wall Street Chicago movement, and was  passionate about the grassroots economic movement to create, sustain, and increase Black business in majority Black communities in the spirit and example of the original Black Wall Street Of Tulsa.  And he had his own Black business project that finally came into the full development for the community called THE QUARRY. God bless the life and legacy of Mr. Ernest Armstrong and his role in keeping the Black Wall Street movements alive, including his ongoing counsel to me as I expanded to develop The National Black Wall Street Chicago entity. He was connected to us all.  His legacy will certainly live on for all of us he touched. We all have the best of memories to live on.  The Black Wall Street movement locally, regionally and nationally celebrate the life and legacy of Mr. Ernest Armstrong.  God Bless
 
Mark Allen, Chairman of National Black Wall Street Chicago, and 
Chief of Staff to Dr. Michael Carter, 
National Chairman, National Black Wall Street USA
Ernest Armstrong and his wife, Suzanne. | Family photo

 
Sun Times Column By Mary Mitchell
 
Some activists lead marches.
Others lead the way.
Ernest Armstrong was one of the latter.
“He was intellectual, very sociable, loved people and always tried to help people better themselves and be involved in community activities or political activities that he thought would make a difference in the long run especially for black people,” said his wife, Suzanne Armstrong, in an interview.
Ernest Armstrong passed away on Christmas Eve of heart failure.
Suzanne, a white woman who grew up in South Shore and Ernest, a black activist whose father was a Pullman porter, met in 1975 while working at The University of Chicago Hospital.
“It was almost like love at first sight,” Suzanne said.
The couple married in 1981 and had a daughter. Both had children from previous relationships.
“People were like ‘You shoot pool with him, you’ll never win. You play Ping-Pong with him, you’ll never win. You play basketball with him (he’s only 5-feet-9) but you’ll never win.’ It was like everything he picked up he could do it,” Suzanne said.
A pharmacist by trade, Armstrong served as director of pharmacy at Provident and Jackson Park hospitals.
Armstrong was born in Atlanta on May 28, 1942, but grew up in Buffalo, N.Y. He graduated from Howard University. He also earned an MBA from Northwestern University.
“His primary usage of his MBA was to get to be a director of pharmacy. There were hardly any African-American directors of pharmacy in Chicago at that time,” his wife said.
When his health began to fail, Armstrong switched his focus to economic development.
“He was active with Webb Evans and his organization, the United American Progress Association, and doing things similar to that on his own with everybody that he knew,” she said.
In 2010, Armstrong and his wife decided to invest in a deserted strip of East 75th Street. The couple opened The Quarry, the only private event venue in the South Shore community.
Initially they took over a space from a man who was leaving town. When they were unable to buy the property for what they considered to be a reasonable price, the Armstrongs looked for a space on 75th Street large enough to accommodate a banquet hall and a restaurant. They settled on a large storefront at 2423 E. 75th St.
The Quarry opened officially with all the licenses in October 2014.
Because of her husband’s declining health, Suzanne has been the driving force behind the venture.
“Because of our struggles with contractors and people who took advantage of [Ernest’s] good nature, we ended up with financial difficulties that I didn’t anticipate,” Suzanne, said.
Those difficulties, which include unpaid taxes, may force her to close The Quarry, though she is desperately trying to keep the doors open.
“He was definitely focused on the success of [The Quarry]. He saw that as his legacy for our children,” Suzanne said.
Armstrong donated his body to medical research. His eternal optimism will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Jan. 12 at The Quarry.
“One thing that everybody is going to remember about Ernest is even when he was really sick, people would ask: ‘How are you doing?’ He would say, ‘Great, and getting better’,” his wife said.



marksallen2800@aol.com
Chairman & COO National Black Wall Street Chicago
(Consumer Education and Consumer Action Project)
Founder/Lead Organizer, Illinois Voter Restoration Civic Education Project
Chief of Staff to National Chairman, National Black Wall Street USA
"And The Ordinary People Said" News Blog, www.chicagonow.com
Chairman, Community Reinvestment Organizing Project
Listed in 2012 Edition Who' Who In Black Chicago
4655 South King Drive, Suite 203
Chicago, Illinois 60653
(Office) 773-268-6900 or direct 773-392-0165
The Rev. Al Sharpton calls Mark Allen "one of Chicago's legendary political activists and one of the best organizers of his generation"

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