The Rev. Robert L. Polk, 97, has lived at Cathedral Village in upper Roxborough for the past 22 years. At one time, he was the only Black resident among more than 400 retirees. But that situation is nothing new for Polk. In 1955, he was named pastor of the Congregational Church of Berthold in North Dakota, thus becoming the only Black person in the entire town. 

Polk later moved 24 miles to the town of Minot, N.D.,  where he worked from 1957 to 1960. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, the entire state of North Dakota had only 47 Black residents just before Polk arrived, so his presence increased that number to 48. Polk said he did not always feel accepted, but 70 years after his arrival in North Dakota, city officials asked him to return to Minot the weekend of June 20-22 to receive Minot’s “Trailblazer Award.” 

He received the honor at a gathering of former colleagues, parishioners, YMCA members, and friends. The citation acknowledged his “devoted pastoral ministry, innovative YMCA youth programs. … and his exceptional ability to bridge cultural differences during his time in North Dakota.”

After returning from the event, Polk told the Local, “It was a joyful time of welcome filled with citations, commendations and well wishes from many who walked with me in mutual discovery. I felt exuberant and strong among those who accompanied me in creating that path of respect and racial inclusion. … My journey has been one of unwavering dedication and countless moments of grace, each serving as a testament to the power of resilience, hope and faith.”

The ‘best of the best’

In Polk’s 2022 autobiography, “Fly in the Buttermilk: One Black Man's Odyssey,” he wrote: “My arrival in Berthold in 1955 coincided with the brutal lynching/slaughtering of Emmett Till. My burden was heavy, and I was in despair. There was no one with whom I could discuss and share my deep sorrow. I recall having to carry that anger and sadness deep within. The murder gained little traction in the Minot Daily News and few words in the Berthold Tribune.

“Till had lived in my neighborhood (in Chicago) and attended the same elementary school my siblings and I attended decades earlier. Our parents helped rear a foster daughter who was a classmate of Emmett Till. I grieved silently and via mail to family and friends. It must have been that kind of thing my mother feared for me if I had taken a parish in the South.”

The book was published by Compray House in Amherst, Mass. Roy L. Lloyd, the company’s executive editor, told the Local in 2023, “Bob is an absolutely amazing person. I respect him deeply, and more importantly, I love him. He is just the best of the best!”

Polk was the first African American graduate of Doane College in Crete, Neb., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and later received an honorary doctorate of divinity. He earned a master’s of divinity degree from Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut, and in 1955, was ordained to Christian ministry in his hometown congregation, Lincoln Memorial Congregational Church in Chicago . 

However, after graduation, “the office could not locate a church to accept me because of my race. … The few urban Black Congregational churches were staffed and without need for additional clergy.”

A standout stands out

Finally, a minister in North Dakota found a church for him in a rural farming community just south of the Canadian border with mostly ethnic Scandinavians and Germans. In that 2023 interview, Polk said, “The little town was so small and rural that it had no paved streets, no running water, no indoor plumbing — I had a snake-infested outhouse — and no direct dial phone service … Furthermore, they had never seen a Black person. I carried out my ministry as prescribed without major conflicts, preaching, teaching, counseling and administering the sacraments. The few exceptions were a family or two who pulled out of the church because I was Black.”

After his tenure in the parish ended, Polk was appointed youth program director at the Minot YMCA. He became the first Black professional in a city of more than 30,000 people. According to Polk, “They were so used to writing the word 'white' that even my driver's license indicated 'white' on the line for race. But the teens and most of their families were fabulous. Occasionally one or two Y members would come into my office and weep because their parents made them withdraw from the Y due to my presence.”

In 1960, Polk was called to New York to serve as the minister to youth at Riverside Church in Manhattan for six years, becoming the church's first minister of color, a fact which produced prominent coverage in the New York Times. He eventually retired, living in Connecticut and later moving to Cathedral Village after researching retirement communities in the region.

Rev. Polk authored two earlier books, “Crossing Barriers & Building Bridges, A Memoir” and “Tight Little Island,” a collection of essays about West Woodlawn, the community where Polk grew up on Chicago's South Side. 

Len Lear can be reached at LenLear@chestnuthilllocal.com.