BRONZEVILLE — Chicago Defender Charities recently elected Marcus Alexander, a public school principal, to become president of the 87-year-old organization.
Alexander, 29, is the principal of Bronzeville's Beethoven Elementary School. Alexander had previously served on the board of directors as well as the vice president of Defender Charities.
"Coming into the role is like stepping into huge footprints," Alexander said. "It's an opportunity to take the charity to the next level."
The Chicago Defender Charities is the philanthropic arm of the Chicago Defender and presents the annual Bud Billiken Parade.
Alexander, an Altgeld Gardens native, succeeds Eugene Scott, former publisher of the Defender. He said the goal of the organization is to promote education for Chicago's children.
"As a kid, I remember writing articles for the Chicago Defender and participating in the parade," Alexander said. "It was great to be around people who wanted have fun and promote education."
He has a plan to improve on the legacy of the charity: "I want to expose students to people who have made it — people who have grown up in similar communities who have done some dynamic things to contribute to our society."
Alexander is no stranger to taking the helm at a longtime institution. Last year when he took over Beethoven, 25 W. 47th St., which was once slated for a staff turnaround but has since improved, his hiring was noteworthy for two reasons.
He was the first man to become the principal of the South Side school. And he was only 28 years old at the time.
"As a young principal, you always face opposition because you have teachers who will say, 'I've been teaching long before you were born,'" Alexander said. "My response to that is, we all have to be willing to grow and accept change. I'm the first to admit that I don't know everything."
Being a male principal also put him in a unique position, he said.
"A lot of our students don't have a male influence in the home," Alexander said. "At the school, I jump rope with the students and eat lunch with them. I take pride in supporting the students in ways they may not understand."
While serving in the Army during the Iraq War, he worked in the financial department along with being a recruiter.
"My primary job in the military was financial management. I basically monitored and organized their financial system," Alexander said. "I took what I learned in the military and applied it to education to reorganize and improve failing systems."
He sees his work as an educator and nonprofit professional as two parts to one goal.
"One of the most rewarding things about being a principal is that you have influence over the lives of children," Alexander said. "Me as the president of the charity, I don't take that role lightly because I look at it as an extension of being a principal."
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