Tributes: Rev. Gil Caldwell (GRS’55, Hon.’59), Robert Trump (DGE’68, CAS’72)
Tributes: Rev. Gil Caldwell (GRS’55, Hon.’59), Robert Trump (DGE’68, CAS’72)
Rev. Gil Caldwell (GRS’55, Hon.’59)
A Lifelong Struggle for Justice
In April 1965, Gil Caldwell introduced Martin Luther King, Jr. (GRS’55, Hon.’59) to a crowd of 22,000 on the Boston Common. Together, they called for freedom and an end to school segregation. Caldwell (STH’58), who died on September 4, 2020, was a stalwart of the Civil Rights Movement, marching on Washington and Selma in the 1960s and joining Black Lives Matter protests in summer 2020. A United Methodist pastor, Caldwell fought to integrate the church and later expanded his push for justice to LGBTQIA+ rights. Accepting a BU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2016, Caldwell said, “I want to be involved in the struggle until I die.”—Andrew Thurston
Robert Trump (DGE’68, CAS’72)
Manhattan Businessman, Brother to President Donald Trump
Robert Trump (DGE’68, CAS’72), a Manhattan businessman and younger brother to President Donald Trump, died August 15, 2020, at age 71. A soccer player at BU (team captain and MVP of the 1969 men’s team), and an economics major, Robert Trump returned to campus in 2013 for the opening of the New Balance Field. After graduating from BU, he worked on Wall Street before joining the Trump family business. In a statement, President Trump said, “He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again.”
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