Roger Wood Wilkins (January 29, 1932 – March 26, 2017) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

leader, professor of history, and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who served as the 15th United States

Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

under President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

from 1966 to 1969. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilkins was mentored by

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

early in his career. Throughout the 1960s, Wilkins campaigned for the passage of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Wilkins to be the administration's chief troubleshooter on urban racial issues; he later became assistant attorney general in the Johnson administration. Wilkins' uncle,

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ...

, was the former executive director of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP) from 1964 to 1977.

Biography

Wilkins was born in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, on January 29, 1932, and grew up in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He was educated at Crispus Attucks Elementary School in Kansas City and Creston High School in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Wilkins received his A.B. degree in 1953 and J.D. degree in 1956, both from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where he interned with the NAACP and was a member of the senior leadership society, Michigamua.

Career

Wilkins worked as a welfare lawyer in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

before becoming an

in President

's administration at age 33; in this capacity, he was one of the highest-ranking Black Americans ever to serve in the executive branch up to that time. Roger Wilkins was sworn in as Director of the federal

Community Relations Service The Community Relations Service (CRS) is part of the United States Department of Justice. The office is intended to act as a peacemaker "for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender i ...

on Friday, February 4, 1966, in a ceremony at The White House. Leaving government in 1969 at the end of the Johnson administration, he worked briefly for the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

before joining the opinion section of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' as an editorial board member. Alongside additional news reports by

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...

Carl Bernstein Carl Milton Bernstein ( ; born February 14, 1944) is an American investigative journalist and author. While a young reporter for ''The Washington Post'' in 1972, Bernstein was teamed up with Bob Woodward, and the two did much of the original ne ...

and E.J. Bachinski and

editorial cartoon A political cartoon, also known as an editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically co ...

s by

Herblock Herbert Lawrence Block, commonly known as Herblock (October13, 1909October7, 2001), was an American editorial cartoonist and author best known for his commentaries on national domestic and foreign policy. During the course of a career stretchin ...

, print editorials by Wilkins and Philip L. Geyelin were included as supplemental items in the publication's 1973

Pulitzer Prize for Public Service The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service is one of the fourteen American Pulitzer Prizes annually awarded for journalism. It recognizes a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journali ...

-winning entry on the incipient

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

, reifying its importance in the popular consciousness and ultimately precipitating President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's resignation from office. He left ''The Washington Post'' in 1974 to work for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' as an editorial board member and opinion columnist. In 1977, he joined other journalists of color in a lawsuit alleging that the newspaper employed

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

in hiring and promotions. Although the litigation resulted in a cash settlement and the facilitation of improvements, he left the newspaper in 1979 to become an associate editor and columnist at ''

The Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...

'' in 1980-81. In 1980, he became a radio news commentator for

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

(NPR). Beginning in 1982, Wilkins was a senior fellow at the

Institute for Policy Studies The Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) is an American Progressivism in the United States, progressive think tank, formed in 1963 and based in Washington, D.C. It was directed by John Cavanagh (economist), John Cavanagh from 1998 to 2021. In 202 ...

. Wilkins and fellow Black journalist

William Raspberry William Raspberry (October 12, 1935 – July 17, 2012) was an American syndicated public policy, public affairs columnist. He was also the Knight Professor of the Practice of Communications and Journalism at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy ...

were appointed concurrently as the first non-White members of the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

Board in 1979; in this capacity, Wilkins served on an advisory panel that recommended the forfeiture of

Janet Cooke Janet Leslie Cooke (born 1954 or 1955) is an American former journalist. She received a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for an article written for ''The Washington Post''. The story was later discovered to have been fabricated and Cooke returned the prize, ...

's Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing and as the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

-based committee's chairperson during the 1987-88 academic year. Wilkins was the Robinson Professor of History and American Culture at

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

from 1988 until his retirement in 2007, becoming one of the most eminent faculty members at the incipient institution. He also retained his position at the Institute for Policy Studies until 1992. Wilkins was also the publisher of the NAACP's journal, ''

The Crisis ''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly M ...

''. Wilkins resided in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and was married to

Patricia King Patricia King is an Irish trade unionist. Born in County Wicklow, King worked as a trade union organiser for many years before being appointed as the Dublin organiser of SIPTU (Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union) in 2004. ...

, a legal scholar at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. Wilkins died on March 26, 2017, in

Kensington, Maryland Kensington is a town in Montgomery County, Maryland, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,122 at the 2020 United States census. Greater Kensington encompasses the entire 20895 ZIP Code, ZIP code, with a population of 1 ...

, from complications of dementia. He was 85.

Bibliography

* ''A Man's Life: An Autobiography''. 1982, reprinted 1991. New York:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. . * ''Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States''. Edited by Wilkins and Fred Harris. 1998. New York:

Pantheon Books Pantheon Books is an American book publishing imprint. Founded in 1942 as an independent publishing house in New York City by Kurt and Helen Wolff, it specialized in introducing progressive European works to American readers. In 1961, it was ...

. . * ''Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism''. 2001. Boston:

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as Jame ...

. .

References

External links

*
''Booknotes'' interview with Wilkins on ''Jefferson's Pillow: The Founding Fathers and the Dilemma of Black Patriotism'', August 12, 2001.Tell Me More interview aired Feb 17, 2011
at George Mason University
1989 Roger Wilkins interview on racism in the U.S.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkins, Roger 1932 births 2017 deaths Ohio lawyers African-American historians 20th-century American historians American male non-fiction writers Historians of the United States American newspaper reporters and correspondents American broadcast news analysts American radio journalists United States assistant attorneys general African-American memoirists Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel University of Michigan alumni University of Michigan Law School alumni George Mason University faculty Pulitzer Prize winners American memoirists Journalists from Missouri Journalists from Michigan Historians from Missouri Historians from Michigan Activists for African-American civil rights 20th-century American lawyers American autobiographers American male biographers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers Writers from Kansas City, Missouri 20th-century African-American lawyers