Willie Holton Halbert is an author, committed great-grandmother, and history-making community activist.
Halbert said she realized she wanted to open her heart and mind to others around age 16. In April, she will turn 70 years old — and she's never stopped reshaping her community.
One example was in 1987, when the City of Bloomington officially renamed Bloomington Avenue on the city's west side to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. There was opposition to the idea, with some arguing that people wouldn't want to live on a street named after the civil rights leader.
“There was a big debate going on about renaming the street to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," Halbert said.
Halbert fought for it.
“I petitioned and came to meetings, and shared that we should name it after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That he was honorable. And the work that he had done for justice and equity for all people was commendable," she said.
Around that time, then-Mayor Jesse Smart was looking to make an appointment to Bloomington's Human Relations Commission. Smart had received Halbert’s name, she said, and he called her in for an interview. At first, Halbert said Smart was concerned she “just wouldn't let that Martin Luther King Jr. Street thing go.”
Halbert said she was not going to change, and will continue to stand up for what she believes is right.
“And believe it or not, he appointed me to the commission,” Halbert said.
Halbert served on the commission for over a decade, until 1999.
After George Floyd
Halbert has lived in the Bloomington-Normal community for over 50 years and continues to be a history maker. (She is literally a McLean County History Maker too.)
“Willie is a go-getter,” said Halbert’s Multicultural Leadership Program mentor Deanna Frautschi. “And once she sets her mind to, 'I'm going to help with this and be involved,' she goes all out.”
After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, Halbert helped the community come together, including helping to organize a gathering of over 1,000 people.
“Even though we live here in Bloomington, there are some things that we can do,” Halbert said, referencing Floyd's murder. “We can write letters, we can contact the elected officials, when it comes time to vote, vote. Do those things that can make a difference.”
Halbert has stood behind her words, and continues to do things that make a difference, even in retirement. She worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Halbert currently serves as 2nd vice president for the Bloomington-Normal NAACP where she chairs the Freedom Fund Committee and is an advisor for many committees. She has also been a member of the Bloomington-Normal Not In Our Town movement since 1996.
“God gives us brand new mercies every morning, and my question to people is, what are you going to do with them?” said Halbert.
