1.0 link 225443 <![CDATA[Dempsey Travis, Pioneering African American Businessman And Civil Rights Activist, Dies At 89 (VIDEO)]]> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/03/dempsey-travis-pioneering_n_225443.html CHICAGO (AP) -- Dempsey Travis, a stockyards worker's son who rose to become a real estate magnate, civil rights activist and jazz musician, has died at age 89.

The self-made millionaire died Thursday at his home, his family said.

As a South Side developer during the 1950s, Travis fought to increase mortgage avilability for blacks. He also helped bankroll the political career of his high school friend, Harold Washington, later Chicago's first black mayor.

Travis graduated from Chicago's DuSable High School in 1939...

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