Personal Life and Education
Burris was born and raised in the small community of Centralia in southern Illinois. The Burris family can trace their roots to American slaves in the American South, mainly in the states of Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. He was a 1955 graduate of Centralia High School. He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1959. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1963.
Burris is married to Berlean M. Burris and is the father of two adult children, Rolanda S. Burris, and Roland W. Burris II. He also has a grandson, Roland T. Burris.
Burris has built a mausoleum for himself in Oak Woods Cemetery on Chicago's South Side. His tombstone proclaims, "TRAIL BLAZER", and includes a list of his accomplishments, with space left for future ones.
Senator Burris is a Life Member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
Read more about this topic: Roland Burris
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