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Dr. Marvel McCain Parker, a distinguished author, faith leader and community advocate, has long called Summit home.
A Harvard University Summer Leadership Institute graduate (Class of 2004), Parker earned a bachelor of arts in nonprofit administration from Northeastern Illinois University. She also completed a two-year major in social and community studies at Lewis University and later received her master of divinity and doctorate of divinity from Grace Theological Seminary.
Parker and her husband, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr., lead the Argo Temple Church of God in Christ in Summit. Together, they work to preserve the legacy of Rev. Parker’s cousin, Emmett Till, and his significance to the civil rights movement.
In July 2023, Dr. and Rev. Parker were guests of President Joe Biden at the White House on what would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday. During the visit, Biden signed a proclamation establishing the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Chicago and Sumner, Mississippi.
She and Rev. Parker serve as stewards for the Chicago and Summit sites.
“That was my second visit to the White House,” Parker said. “My first visit to the White House and Oval Office was in March 2022 when President Joe Biden signed the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act into law, which made lynching a crime in America.”
Parker returned to the White House in February 2024 to attend a ceremony in the Eisenhower Building honoring the descendants of civil rights icons. She visited again in May 2024 to participate in a panel discussion for Women’s History Month as a guest of Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland.
“These invitations to the White House have, of course, been a highlight of my career,” Parker said. “My most memorable achievement was being awarded a fellowship to Harvard in 2004.”
A Legacy of Advocacy
A prolific author, Parker shares personal reflections, spiritual insights and community-driven solutions through her writing. She has decades of experience in advocacy, community development and nonprofit leadership.
She serves as president of AIDS Awareness Advocacy Inc. and Community Design Concepts Inc. She is also the executive director of the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, where she works to educate future generations on civil rights history and promote social justice initiatives.
Parker, the longest-serving trustee on the Summit Village Board, remains committed to public service and community advancement.
“I have been a trustee in the Village of Summit since 2012. I was appointed to complete the term of the late Dick Aldridge, elected to the seat in 2013 and will be elected to my fourth term on April 1,” she said.
She currently serves as chairman of public safety, finance and human resources.
“Some of my most gratifying accomplishments as director of community development from 1998 to 2012 include the construction of the Summit Fire Station (a Community Development Block Grant project completed in 1999), the construction of the Emmett Till Community Center (completed in 2001), the Weed and Seed Initiative (a Department of Justice grant awarded to the Village of Summit in 2009), and Summit Senior Housing (completed in 2010),” Parker said.
“As I continue my work as the senior trustee for the Village of Summit, I will do my best to provide transparent leadership and promote social justice and equality.”
Continuing the Work
Parker has been traveling with her husband to promote his memoir, A Few Days Full of Trouble, and to support the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley Institute’s Let the World See exhibit.
Last year, she received two awards: a Partnership Award for her work on the monument designation, presented in New Orleans in October 2024, and an award recognizing the Let the World See exhibit, presented in Mobile, Alabama.
Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of stories highlighting the accomplishments of local women in honor of Women’s History Month
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