Celebrating Belinda Carr: WIU's Longest-Running Director of the GBCC
– As we continue to recognize Black History Month, we also continue to celebrate the Black women who have made their mark in Macomb and well beyond the state's borders. During Black History Month, we're paying tribute to three women we know of who made great strides in equality and social justice.
Belinda Carr, who has called Macomb home since 1976, has been long known for her commitment to social justice and equity, along with her involvement in the community. Recently, she was recognized for her life's work by the Chicagoland nonprofit, Raydient Splendor, founded by Rayvon Carter. Carr received a 2025 Raydient Award for being a 'changemaker.' Also, Alex Bryant, a WIU alumnus, recently named Carr as one of four individuals who impacted his life’s journey. He called the group, 'his Mount Rushmore.'
Carr served as the director of Western Illinois University's Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and adviser to the Black Student Association at WIU from 1985 until her 2014 retirement. During her tenure, she also taught courses in African American Studies, and her leadership made her a trusted role model for countless women and students of color on campus.
The Danville, Illinois native first made her way to Macomb in 1976 as a nontraditional undergraduate student, following her younger brother, Melvin, to WIU. In a 2004 'Across the Miles' interview with former WIU Director of Alumni Programs Gordy Taylor, she shared that after graduating with her Board of Governor's degree, she knew she wanted to have a career working with students.
'I'd always been involved with various organizations on campus, and I found out you could get a career in that. I started taking courses in the CSP (College Student Personnel) program and the director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center opened up and it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Jim Miner, was the director of student activities at that time, along with a committee that consisted of Dr. Essie Rutledge and Earl Bracey, hired me. The rest is history,' she said. 'They made a tremendous impact in my life. They changed my life.'
However, before becoming the GBCC director, Carr was working on campus as a building service worker, while attending classes and raising three young children on her own. She held that job from 1980, shortly after graduating with her college degree, until being named director of the center in 1985.
As the longest-serving GBCC director (prior to becoming director, two years was the average length of stay for the previous six directors), Carr navigated several ups-and-downs, including the razing of the big blue house on Adams Street that served as the center since the 1960s and was a mainstay for the Black Student Association and other cultural groups on campus. She oversaw the center's move first to its temporary home on the north side of campus until its new permanent home in the Multicultural Center was built across from the Union.
'The center came out of that period of unrest and Western Illinois University experienced some of that, too. You had students, African-American students who were in predominantly white environments. It was a place for students to come that they could feel like they were at home,' she said in the interview. 'President Bernhard met with the students, I think it was around 1969, because the students wanted to name it after Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks because at the time it was just called the Black House. It was renamed in her honor in 1970.'
Carr was a founding member of Focus on Harmony, a group at WIU that shed light on hunger and poverty, and along with former Vice President Early Bracey, hosted the annual Soul Food Festival for several years at Western as part of Black History Month events. She served as a member of the WIU Alumni Council, and was also the adviser for Renaissance Writers, a student group that produced a newsletter that promoted the African-American experience. One of the largest student groups she led was the longstanding Black Student Association. Fun fact: Over the years, Carr served as adviser for as many as 11 student groups each semester.
'I really enjoy working with the students. That's the highlight of my job, being able to interact with the students and help them with their leadership development and be all that they can be at Western Illinois University,' she said. 'I get my energy from my students. I just love to work with them.'
In her community, Carr has served as a commissioner for the Housing Authority of McDonough County since 2008 and a member of Macomb's Equal Opportunity and Fair Housing Commission since 2000. She was also the first African American elected to the McDonough County Board, serving from 2002-2004. Carr has served as the chair of the McDonough County Democratic Central Committee since 2018, a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) since 2014 and a volunteer with The Good Food Pantry in Macomb since 2023. She also remains an active member of the congregation, including serving as a trustee, at Mount Calvary Church of God in Christ in Macomb.
In addition, she was a board member of the former P.R.I.M.E. (Pride and Responsibility in My Environment) organization, and in that role for 20 years, P.R.I.M.E. partnered with WIU departments to provide workshops for youth during eight-week summer programs. As director of the cultural center, Carr helped organize annual Juneteenth events to celebrate the end of slavery and deepen the region's enjoyment of African American culture. In the early years of the annual event, Macomb was only one of seven cities in Illinois recognizing Juneteenth.
“My life's journey is noted with service leadership to others, social justice and advocacy. The Lord blessed me with opportunities at Western Illinois University and Macomb to positively impact the quality of life in our communities,” Carr said. “I owe all that I am, and all that I have become, to my mother, Myran Jean Staple.”
