REV. ROBERT BAILEY

My greatest personal achievement has been helping young men in their ministry, who have come into the church under me.

ADVERSITY: In 1968, I was shot and left for dead. When hospitalized, I was given up by the physicians and told that six months was the longest I could expect to live. I have been able to go beyond what the doctors said. My greatest experience has been in proving them wrong. I still have the bullets in me. One is one-half of an inch from my heart and the other one is in my back. I firmly believe that anything can be done through prayer.

My occupation is minister and pastor of Shiloh AME church in E. St. Louis, Illinois. I enjoy serving and helping people, not only in the church, but in the community.

MEMBERSHIPS: American Red Cross Advisory Board member, YMCA Advisory Board member, and Board of Ministers United for Human Suffering.

AWARDS: Humanities Degree from Edward Waters College in Florida; Recruitment Award from U.S. Marine Corps.; and Letter of Congratulations from Congress when I won the position of Alderman in Elkhart, Indiana.

My hobby is fishing.

Favorite television programs are THE JEFFERSONS, THE COSBY SHOW and MIAMI VICE.

"Roots" by Alex Haley is my favorite book. it shows the plight of Black people as well as their origins and helps us to identify ourselves as Black people.

Instances of discrimination: In 1969 in Cairo, Illinois, we stopped at a restaurant and were not served. I asked for the manager. He would make an exception because we

were a group of ministers. What he did, he sat with us at the table as we were being served and as we ate our dinner. We were treated fairly well. In Elkhart, Indiana when I ran for Alderman, the newspapers and politicians tried to find every way possible to disqualify me. Finally, I did get on the ballot and did win. I was the first Black to run and also win.

Punishment as a child: In the fifties we did not have a television, only a radio. We couldn't even listen to it if we were on punishment. My father told us something one time and one time was enough.

An amusing incident was the family reunion that never was. My mother and her sisters got together a family reunion, but each one thought it was in a different place. We drove down from Chicago, but never found where it was supposed to be. Now, we check three or four times to know when and where.