Long before he decided to return to school to study Black history, Detroit activist and current Wayne State University student Heaster Wheeler was helping to make it.  

For decades, Wheeler, 69, has been an outspoken fixture in local politics. As a teen in the 1970s, Wheeler campaigned for Coleman A. Young. Years later, he left WSU as a student to join the Detroit Fire Department, eventually leading the city’s Black firefighter organization, the Phoenix. In 1999, after time as a legislative assistant and a Lansing lobbyist, he was named executive director of the NAACP Detroit Branch, the largest chapter in the nation. Most recently, Wheeler served as advisor to the Secretary of State.

Now, he’ll soon enjoy a new title: WSU graduate. At the university’s May 1 commencement, Wheeler will receive a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies. Ahead of the ceremony, the civil rights firebrand shared thoughts about his college trek, his future and why, despite his prominence and legacy of service at the front lines of social justice, earning his degree remained a priority.

You’ll get your bachelor’s soon, but you’ve been on an educational journey since the 1970s. How did it start?

I've been so richly blessed. I graduated from Northwestern High School, part of Detroit Public Schools, in 1973, at age 16. Straight out of high school, I joined the Shrine of the Black Madonna. I was a teenager reading books about Che Guevara and Kwame Nkrumah. It pricked my consciousness at an early age. I knew activism and community advocacy were a calling.

I came to Wayne State in ’73, ’74 and ’75. I wasn’t certain what my major would be. Then Coleman Young became mayor. He said public service jobs ought to reflect the public they serve. He wanted police officers and firefighters to look like the city. I heard the call, and I heeded the call. I left campus one day and applied to the fire department.

Even after that, I was in and out of school. I don't think two years have ever gone by where I didn't take a class. (Wheeler earned a two-year community college degree years ago.)

Why are you so passionate about community service?

Part of the message I try to communicate to young people is, you can change the way you think, the way you view yourself. And you can change the world based on how you think.

Since I was 16, not a year has gone by where I haven’t worked on somebody's political campaign. I worked on Coleman Young's campaign for mayor when I wasn't even old enough to vote. I saw the relationship between political involvement and outcomes. I care deeply about politics and community. I know our power. 

When and why did you decide to pursue a degree in African American Studies?

The magic moment came about 10 years ago. I wasn't as focused to finish the degree as I was interested in taking as many African American Studies classes as I could. I kept taking classes over the next several years. Then I looked up a couple years ago, and  Ollie Johnson, (chairman of the Department of African American Studies) said, “If you do this and that, you're right there at the degree.” So that's how I got here.

I feel strongly about African American Studies. My son, Jeremiah, was president of Wayne State Black Student Union (BSU) before he graduated. I was encouraging him to inspire young people to take these classes. I don't understand how you could be active with the BSU and not have an African American Studies class. That deepened my commitment to increasing awareness around African American Studies.

What’s it like for someone who’s witnessed Black history in the making to attend classes about that history?

It’s been mutually respectful. I've tried to demonstrate a certain level of humility and not be overbearing because it's really the young people who should get the most benefit. They're on the front side of their career. At some point, though, the professor knows that I'm in the ready position to answer a question or to engage in conversation.

Why do you think a college degree remains essential?

There’s no substitute for learning how to think, how to figure out stuff.

I've had a mentoring program for about nine years at my old high school. One thing I open mentoring sessions up with is “$1 million.” That’s how I start – “$1 million. People who complete their college degree will make a million dollars more over their lifetime than people who don't.” There you have it.

But it’s more than money. When I stand before you, I want to be able to tell the story that, as an adult, I went back to fulfill a commitment I made to myself 40 years ago.

Any plans for your new degree?

I've got an invitation to serve as adjunct professor in community college. I'm probably going to teach African American Studies in the fall. I’d love to pursue another degree — and I’d do it at Wayne State. That's my home. I'm a Detroiter, without apology, and my life’s work has been a commitment to be part of the solution in the city.