Theodore Kirkland is married to the former Winona Washington; they have three daughters, and a grandson. A Korean War veteran, Kirkland?s community activism beganin1961 leading a group of Black workers to file racial discrimination charges against their employer; this action was repeated in 1972 when he led a group of Black police officers to file racial discrimination charges against the Buffalo Police and Fire Departments resulting in the hiring of the first Puerto Ricans; elimination of the quota for women police officers; and the increase of women and Black officers in the force. New York Governor, Hugh Carey, appointed him to the New York State Parole Board in 1978. This was followed by being appointed adjunct professor at the University of Buffalo and Hunter College in New York City. He is the recipient of awards and citations from community groups, youth gangs, prison inmates; Black Business and Professional Women; International Christian Women?s Council; Hamlin Park; Male Youth of Calvary CME Church; Urban League; PUSH; ACLU; NAACP; SCLC; Black Firefighters; Afro-American Police Association; the YMCA of Greater Buffalo; the President?s Award from the Empire State Federation of Women?s Clubs; and cited by the President of the United States and the House of Representatives. He appears in Who?s Who Among Black Americans in its 1980-1981 and in the 1996-1997 edition of Who?s Who Among African Americans. He has a BA and Master Degree and is a frequent columnist with the Challenger Newspaper, and the Criterion Newspaper.