I received a call today from a young Addictions Counselor who told me that her mentor, Emmitt Hines died. In 1982, the year I became a drug counselor, Emmitt was my first mentor. He was a member of the Illinois Chapter of the National Black Alcoholism Council (NBAC). These seasoned pros from NBAC volunteered to do trainings to prepare the next generation of African Americans to become Certified Addictions Counselors. While many of these trainers went on to have stellar careers, Emmitt Hines was by far the best presenter. He had a charismatic style which included humor, laughter and spontaneous diagrams on the flip chart. He taught with such clarity that anyone could retain his lessons. Instantly, I wanted to be like Emmitt Hines. He was someone I knew I could learn from.
Emmitt worked at Hyde Park Hospital in the early 1980's as an Addictions Counselor and that too was impressive as most African Americans I knew worked at agencies. I asked him if I could volunteer to co-lead a therapy group with him at the hospital to continue learning from him. He said, yes. I quickly discovered that he was as effective as a group therapist as he was a presenter! His style was charismatic, I marveled at how he could make a whole group of clients laugh. He counseled with a rhythm. It is difficult to describe to new counselors today how counselors like Emmitt counseled with a Charismatic Rhythm. The old school counselors had the ability to leave an entire room spellbound. New counselors would have to see it to understand. I thought of Emmitt as an African American Sigmund Freud.
In the Mid 1980's Emmitt invited me and another newer counselor James Brumley to his office on North Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile!). To be honest with you, when he put the key in the door I did not expect it to open. As far as I knew, only multimillionaire John. H. Johnson, Publisher of Ebony, Essence and Jet Magazine's had an office on N. Michigan Avenue. The key worked! Emmitt, James and I talked about partnering to open a counseling center on Michigan Avenue.
While we never opened the center, Emmitt Hines stretched my imagination. I followed in his footsteps and became a counselor at Hyde Park Hospital. I opened a private practice office on The Magnificent Mile, with views from my windows of both the Chicago River and N. Michigan Avenue. I helped train future African Americans pursuing certification as Addictions Counselors and I have done presentations all over the world trying to display the clarity and style that I learned from Emmitt.
If there is a need for Drug Abuse Counselors in the here after, Heaven just received one of the best. Rest in Peace Emmitt!