Former Illinois State University professor and social justice advocate Robert [Bob] Sutherland has died at the age of 88. Sutherland’s son, Dave, shared news of his father's death on Facebook.
Sutherland is survived by his wife, Marilyn, and their two sons.
Dave remembered his father not only as an accomplished writer but also an active member of the Bloomington-Normal community fighting for his neighbors.
He was "a civil rights warrior in the 60s and 70s championing minority rights (we got death threats in the mail); an active proponent of LGBTQ rights; a founding member of the AIDS Task Force in the 80s; president of the local ACLU chapter. And so so so much more,” Dave said.
"He seemed to be an expert on everything — art, music, history, literature (he taught me to read The Canterbury Tales in Middle English), and widely traveled. And he had an absurdist sense of humor."
Dave said his work as a naturalist and educator directly stem from his father and mother Marilyn’s influence.
The ACLU of Central Illinois joined Dave in mourning his father, calling Sutherland a "great civil liberties warrior."
“Bob was a major leader in the Chapter who was always pushing to assure that civil liberties were respected in our community and across the country. One of his greatest accomplishments with the Chapter was his involvement in the creation and sustaining of the Jail Review Committee,” the organization posted on Facebook. “Thank you so much for all you did Bob.”
The ACLU said Sutherland made sure the Jail Review Committee was sustained for 40 years after its creation. The citizen group is a free-standing body with members appointed by various community groups with the core functions of monitoring jail conditions, protecting the civil rights of inmates, working for solutions in the work of jail staff and exploring improved operations in regard to humaneness and efficiency.
For his efforts in the LGBTQ+ community, Prairie Pride Coalition President Dave Bentlin remembered Sutherland as a friend and mentor. He recalled Sutherland’s work as an advisor of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance in the 1980s or welcoming poet Allen Ginsberg to campus.
“These stories are but a small sampling of Bob's life work as an advocate and activist. He was both a friend and a mentor to me, and much of what I learned from Bob has served me well as I work to be part of the change we wish to see in society. At any rate, we all stand on his shoulders and are grateful for his presence in our lives,” Bentlin said to WGLT. “I will miss Bob.”
Sutherland’s community efforts extended to ISU, where he taught in the English department from 1964 to 1993. A coveted graduate opportunity known as the Sutherland Fellowship is awarded to creative writing students in the department.
His accolades don’t stop there. In 2021, Bob and his wife Marilyn were inducted as History Makers by the McLean County Museum of History.
WGLT inducted Sutherland, again alongside Marilyn, into its inaugural Hall of Fame class in 2018. WGLT supporters since 1986, the couple founded the Robert and Marilyn Sutherland Endowment for WGLT Operations in 2011 to help “to ensure the survival and stability of a valuable community resource."
