Robert Carlton Delk

Robert Carlton Delk, 90, activist and educator, and member of FOR since August, 1940, died peacefully at home in Bloomington, Indiana on February 26, 2011.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Delk earned his degrees in the United States and taught at colleges and universities all over the country. His field of study was European history, and his expertise was the Middle East at and around the time of the Ottoman Empire.

As an activist for peace and social justice, Delk was a pacifist conscientious objector during WWII, a mediator during the student unrest of the late 1960’s, and an activist during the Civil Rights Movement when he had the opportunity to work with, among others, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers. As an advocate for the poor and working class, he supported the united workers and the right to form strong labor unions. He also served on governing boards and supported a variety of arts and civic organizations such as the F. Scott Fitzgerald Museum in Alabama, the Shakespeare Festival Theater, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Delk is survived by his three daughters and several grandchildren.