Eleanor Chatman

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Eleanor Chatman on March 17, 2024, after a brief illness at the age of 87.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on July 15, 1936 Eleanor Mae Strutchions grew up on the southside of the city. She attended Fenger High School and graduated in 1954.  She left Chicago to attend Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN.  While there, she met Donald L. Chatman, who was attending Meharry Medical College, when they were seated at the same table at a busy restaurant.  Dr. Chatman recognized her beauty and said, “Now that is the girl!”  That chance meeting led to marriage and 3 children - Lynn, Eleanor “Cee- Cee”, and Eric.

Eleanor followed her husband to Louisiana, New Jersey, and Washington State as he continued his medical studies and did a stint in the Air Force. She finished her bachelor’s degree at Eastern Washington State in Spokane Washington, while caring for their three children.

The couple, who later divorced, settled in Chicago, where Eleanor worked as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools mostly at Harlan High School where Eleanor was a social studies and gym teacher. During that time, she was very active in the civil rights movement, attending the 1963 March on Washington, and many civil rights activities and protests. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he came to Chicago to advocate for fair housing and was a regular presence, with her children, at the Saturday morning gatherings of Operation Breadbasket, an organization dedicated to improving the social and economic conditions of African Americans.

In 1976, Eleanor leaned into her passion for travel by founding the Mahogany Travel Service, one of the first African American owned travel agencies in the country. At that time, few U.S. based travel agencies specialized in travel to the African continent. Eleanor organized and led tours to Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Mozambique, the Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Nigeria, and many other African countries.  Her aim was to help African Americans travel to the countries of their ancestral origin and included excursions to slave castles and the “point of no return” along the West Africa coastline. 

In 1991, Eleanor sold Mahogany Travel to Johnson’s Publishing (the publisher of Ebony and Jet), and subsequently founded Africa Travel Advisors, which focused on tours that followed the global African Diaspora. The tours not only included destinations in Africa, but also destinations in Mexico, China, and other places with communities of people who shared African ancestry.  Her travels – to more than 80 countries over the course of her lifetime -- allowed her to pursue her passion for art, and she became an avid collector of African and African American art resulting in a unique collection featuring pieces by African, Caribbean, Latin American and African American artists.

Eleanor is survived by her children, Lynn C. Todman, Eleanor “Cee Cee” Chatman, and Eric Chatman; her brother, Cleophus Strutchions; sister, Sylvia Weir; 5 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.  

An early and longtime supporter and past board member of the DuSable Black History and Educational Center, in lieu of flowers, her children ask that donations be made in Mrs. Eleanor Chatman's name to the DuSable Museum

 (https://www.dusablemuseum.org/).

A memorial celebration of life will be held in July around the time of her birthday to celebrate Eleanor in a manner she would have preferred.