TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Rev. Leon D. Finney, Th.D., Ph.D. 1938–2020 Community Leader, Educator, U.S. Marine Corps M emorialized by the 44th president of United States Barack Obama as a “skinny guy with big Washington, all the way to former Presi- dent Barack Obama, and in all points and times in between. Dr. Finney was an organizer’s organizer, who was on the frontline of change throughout the land. He was my close confidant, colleague, and confederate…”
dreams”, longtime southside Chicago community activist and businessman Rev. Leon D. Finney, Jr., the pastor and founder of the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church of Christ, entered the Chapter Invisible on September 3, 2020, at the age of 82. Finney served as senior pastor at Metropolitan Apos- tolic Community Church for 20 years. He also credited as the founder of The Woodlawn Organization (TWO), a com- munity group that spearheaded millions of dollars of economic development and affordable housing to the Chicago’s South Side. Finney built a real estate empire and was a prominent voice and power broker in Chicago politics for decades. He also owned the famous Leon's BBQ, which his father started, and Urban Broadcast Media. Rev. Jesse Jackson on his longtime friend and colleague, “A tall tree in the forest has fallen. He was an organizer for my 1988 presidential campaign, and for Carol Moseley Braun and Barack Obama. Leon also had an entrepre- neurial spirit, following in his father’s footsteps.” The office of U.S. Representative Bob- by L. Rush (D-Ill.) issued a statement on Rev. Finney’s after the announce- ment of his death. “Dr. Finney’s life and legacy have left his fingerprints on the throttle of change in our city, state, and nation, extending from his father, Leon Finney Sr. — an amazing African American businessman and founder of Leon’s Barbecue — to Saul Alinsky, to Bishop Arthur M. Frazier, to Congressman Ralph H. Metcalfe Jr., to Reverend Jessie L. Jackson Sr., to Mayor Harold
Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., recalled Finney as “a mainstay in African Ameri- can Life in Chicago and throughout America for the past 50 years and a bril- liant organizer who helped to build The Woodlawn Organization into a Commu- nity Powerhouse.” Leon Dorsey Finney, Jr. was born in Louise, MS, in 1938, the eldest of six children born to the late Leon Sr. and Bertha Finney. The Finney family moved to Chicago, IL, where he lived the majority of his life. He attended Chicago’s Hyde Park Academy High School, where he participated on the track team. After graduating high school, Finney attended the University of Illinois-Champaign but later dropped out. Finney entered the United States Marine Corps, where he served as a po- liceman and criminal investigator. He returned to his hometown of Chicago after his honorable discharge from the Marines. Finney developed his reputa- tion as an influential community activist by confronting slumlords and challeng- ing the University of Chicago's growing expansion plans during the 1960s. In 1964, Finney became an organizer for the Woodlawn Organization, became its Executive Director in 1967, and 1969 president of the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation. In 1979, Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne appointed Finney to Chicago Plan Commission. In 2003, he purchased the former Met- ropolitan Community Church facility and renamed the southside church as
the Metropolitan Apostolic Commu- nity Church.
He earned an M.A. in Economics and Urban Community Development from Goddard College, both an M.A. in Theological Studies and a Doctor of Theology degree from McCormick Theological Seminary, and both an M.A. in Public Administration and a Doctoral in Public Administration degree from Nova University. In addition to his pastoral duties and community activities, Finney taught at the University of Chicago, Lutheran School of Theology, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, Presbyterian College of Korea, and the Theological College of the Baha- mas. In 1993, he joined McCormick Theological Seminary staff as a profes- sor of African American Leadership Studies and Executive Director of the African-American Leadership Partner- ship (AALP). Finney was also the Chairman and Principal of the Lincoln South Central Real Estate Group, Inc. He served as vice-chairman of the Chicago Public Housing Authority and chairman of the Monitoring Com- mission for School Desegregation for Chicago Public Schools. He was a board member for the Chicago Plan- ning Commission, Broadcast Ministers Alliance, and Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions.
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