Alicia A. Mercer, or Tish, as she was known, was a labor negotiator with Greyhound Bus Company during one of the largest strikes in their history. She worked diligently with the Harold Washington Campaign and later became a big part of his transition

A Warm Blanket

CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF A. "TISH" MERCERBy PAMELA P. MERCER

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Pamela P. Mercer
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4697-9488-4

Contents

Memoirs of A. Tish Mercer.........................................................................xxiOpening the Door to Celebrate Her Life............................................................xxviiThe Estate of the Estate of Alicia Ann "Tish" Mercer..............................................xlviiBits and Pieces...................................................................................lvChapter #1 This is not about Me—A summary in the 60's and the 70's..........................1Chapter #2 Not the Fast Lane—Setting the Pace...............................................13Chapter #3 Back When We Were Young................................................................47Chapter #4 A Parade of Pictures, People Places and Things.........................................86Chapter #5 Not Enslaved by corporate America—do your own thing..............................122Chapter #6 A lot of friends, a lot of memories What the world wanted to share.....................129Chapter #7 Corporate Mercer and Mercer Corporations...............................................146Her Brother Archie Mercer.........................................................................155Theft, Deception and Family Friction..............................................................157Pulling The Covers Off!...........................................................................166Fred Flintstone Feet..............................................................................183Reflections from her Mom..........................................................................195Reflections from Her Youngest Sister Cynthia......................................................198Chapter #9 Bad Karma will bury itself.............................................................201Chapter #10 The Books, the balances and some of the bull..........................................204Chapter #11 The Men and the Boys Secrets we share.................................................206Chapter #12 CHA—The Dark Truth More than a Rumor............................................220Chapter #13 Keeping the Legacy Alive..............................................................238Chapter #14 Her music, her method and her message.................................................243Chapter #15 A personal journal from family, friends and extended family...........................246Sermon Notes......................................................................................253

Chapter One

Part 1

This is not about Me—A summary in the 60's and the 70's

This is not about me but I must put me in the picture to identify the surroundings and clearly depict the love that blossomed in a rural area or a rural era. She played such an important role in all of lives even when we were not aware of it. The woman that we all knew and loved so very much was really about success. However, she was also about family, about goals and dreams and about building others. She dedicated so much of her life to building a foundation for others to grow that she often put her needs on the back burner. In the complicated configurations of success drills she sat still and took on the task of social healing and successful strategic development. She made time for others when she did not have time for herself and like hungry vultures the needy world circled waiting to pounce at every opportunity. It is imperative that I put everyone I can in the picture to describe how marvelous she really was. To draw on this point also emphasizes how much she is missed. To build the structure that fills the void and it of course goes all the way to the sky. Tish was the hopes and dreams of so many, even in her youth. I emulated her in dress, in work activities and artistic focus. Sometimes I wanted to be her even when she always directed everyone to be their own person. We emulated her in so many ways but she believed in you when you didn't have a true belief system and she had a road map to repair your dreams if you started rambling on about the night mares. She escaped the stereotype of rural Englewood and excelled in so many different ways. The point being in order to really talk about Tish all the lives she has impacted in the years will be exposed. So this really isn't about me but I must put my self there to give the clearest possible depiction of the woman she was the friend she is and the sister she will always be. In this I can peacefully emphasize that it's about all of us who are exactly who we are because of Tish Mercer.

I can't go all the way back to 64th and Rhodes because I was much too young to remember but I do clearly remember 1122 & 1120 West Marquette. My Mom can tell us about Rhodes, about 1122 W. Marquette, about the Lowry's who usually lived next door or up stairs from us for many years. They did not play a dramatic role on the lives of Tish Mercer and her family but they were there and they were there for a long time. The southern existence and all the elements of the south were born with that family relationship. There were sometimes live chickens in the back yard, cooking coons or squirrel. Ms. Minnie or Mamma Lee as they called her made the best fried pies on the planet. There was Hazel, Ms. Carol, Tutsie the oldest, Larry, Ann and Wilson. We still hear from Larry even though he could not be reached for Tish's home going services and I believe Wilson lives in Europe. But my mom even in her senior years can tell you about all of this and all of them. She can tell us about 89th and Dauphin which was my grandmother's house and she can fill in so many things about Tish's growing up that I could never fill in. Which reminds me, they protected the memory of my grandmother and kept the house. I'm sure that was the reason why they kept it. It's been rented out for over 20 years and I bet the profit was astronomical. Of course, Aleda the younger and only sister of my mom and my only known aunt had everything. She shared nothing with my mom but that's cool because this is not even about my mom, this is not about me. This is about my big sister and how she is remembered by so many people in so very many ways. Debbie or Deborah which is on her birth certificate can also fill in a lot of blanks too but I doubt that she will and I simply refuse to ask her again. Aleda, her aunt who's the same age as Debbie could probably provide some credible information to their youth. Sadly they are much too busy to remember their sister, their niece. But I'm asking, I requested and I'm writing using the available resources and the blessings of the creator to direct my words and even the keyboard if you will. This is a part of the Mercer Family History. Tish Mercer in my eyes and in my heart is truly historical. She made a mark in her work all over the globe and she left a lot of warm and wonderful memories back at 66th and May, Marquette Park, a place we know as Englewood.

There is so much about Tish Mercer that I'm sure the world would love to know and there are so many friends who would love to be remembered with in her life and in her heart. The mostly clear yet still gray area of her teen years and my absolute youth was 1120 W. Marquette and 1122 W. Marquette. There's nothing standing there now. Both buildings have been torn down. However, I can draw on a litany of people, places and things that might help to recapture some of those memories and paint...