Happy birthday, Mr. T

By Alice Thomas-Tisdale

JA Publisher Emerita 

November 7, 2026, marks the 100th birthday of Charles Wesley Tisdale. Since his death on a perfect day – 7-7-2007 – I have longed to celebrate him for countless reasons but primarily for being a champion for justice. He truly hated injustice and fought with every ounce of vigor to slaughter it with his mighty pen. 

Ironically, he never touched a keyboard, or searched online. All his writings from personal accounts, interviews, or book references were written on yellow legal size paper. However, he did take great pleasure in sitting on the left side of his typist to perfect his articles. 

The same cannot be said of the various typists who needed to stop frequently to look up the spelling of a substituted verb or adjective he wanted to use. I fared better than most, probably because I knew he had a message of importance to deliver to the people and I could help make that possible.

Tisdale wanted so much for his community. He was far from rich but nobody went hungry who approached him for a few dollars. Most times it wasn’t monetary aid he offered to the underserved or those who fell on hard times. He used every resource he could muster, calling in favors, making promises to repay the kindness; anything to remedy somebody’s immediate dilemma.

He understood that offering someone help tomorrow for something that was needed today was no help at all. I miss his unselfish spirit. I’m eternally grateful to those who still remember his tenacity and unapologetic determination to free the captives. Happy birthday to a freedom fighter!