Bernard Turner was born in Bronzeville and is a graduate of the
Chicago Public Schools system, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Chicago. His career has been in teaching and educational publishing. He has served as a gallery interpreter at the Chicago History Museum since 2000. In 2002, Turner founded Highlights of Chicago Press with the publication of A View of Bronzeville, a guide that focuses on the institutions and people who made the neighborhood notable. Other publications include Chicago Neighborhoods with Flavor: Getting Out of the Loop and Our Chicago: People and Places, a social studies book for children. He coauthored and published Tate and His Historic Dream, a Phillis Wheatley Book Award finalist. Turner also chairs the educational curriculum committee for the Black Metropolis National Heritage Area Commission for the Great Migration Centennial and is a director on the Camp Douglas Restoration Foundation board.