Robert Leon Woodson Sr. (born April 8, 1937) is an American
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
activist,
community development
The United Nations defines community development as "a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems." It is a broad concept, applied to the practices of civic leaders, activists ...
leader,
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, and founder and president of the Woodson Center. The Woodson Center is a non-profit research and demonstration organization that supports neighborhood-based initiatives to revitalize low-income communities.
In February 2020, Woodson launched the Center's 1776 Unites campaign, to counter
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project is a long-form journalism endeavor developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from ''The New York Times'', and ''The New York Times Magazine'' which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery an ...
.
Early life, family, and education
Woodson was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. His father died soon after and Woodson and his four siblings were raised by his mother. In 1954 he dropped out of high school to join the
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
. While in the Air Force he passed the
GED
The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...
tests. After leaving the Air Force he went on to graduate from
Cheyney University in 1962 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
in
Mathematics and then from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in 1965 with a
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work (MSW) is a master's degree in the field of social work. It is a professional degree with specializations compared to Bachelor of Social Work (BSW). MSW promotes macro-, mezzo- and micro-aspects of professional social work ...
.
In 1977 Woodson married Ellen Hylton, and together they have raised four children: Robert Woodson Jr., Jamal Woodson, Tanya Woodson-Monestel, and Ralph Woodson.
On February 8, 2003, his son, Robert L. Woodson Jr., was killed in an automobile accident.
[Robert L. Woodson Jr., Community Group's Vice President, Dies](_blank)
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', February 11, 2003 An award has been named for Woodson Jr. by the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...
, where he had previously been employed.
Civil rights activism
Robert Woodson has been actively involved in civil rights and community development since 1962.
Community development, 1962–1968
While completing his graduate work, Woodson became actively involved in the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
, directing and coordinating community development programs for a number of local and national organizations, including the
NAACP.
Unitarian Services Committee, social worker, Boston, 1968–1971
After resigning from the NAACP, Woodson moved to Boston, where he spent three years as a social worker with the
Unitarian Services Committee.
National Urban League, Administration of Justice Division, director, New York City, 1971–1973
As a director of the
National Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
, Woodson began to develop a strategy to reduce crime by strengthening community institutions that were closest to the problems of high-crime areas.
American Enterprise Institute, 1974–1981
Woodson continued to develop the idea of neighborhood empowerment during his time as director of the
American Enterprise Institute's Neighborhood Revitalization Project in Washington, DC. He then became an adjunct fellow providing technical support and advice to community groups.
Neighborhood empowerment movement
Woodson's strategy of neighborhood empowerment is to seek solutions to the problems of low-income communities among what he calls the social entrepreneurs that are indigenous to these communities. Rather than a poverty program directed by some government agency, Woodson's program seeks out families in these troubled neighborhoods that have prospered and persevered to learn from their success.
Opposition to the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
In 1973
Vernon Jordan
Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. (August 15, 1935 – March 1, 2021) was an American business executive and civil rights attorney who worked for various civil rights movement organizations before becoming a close advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Jor ...
, head of the Urban League, and Representative
John Conyers, chair of the U.S. House subcommittee on crime in the
Judiciary Committee, supported Woodson's opposition to vesting more power to Justice agencies as a solution to crime; that a better solution was focusing on neighborhood empowerment.
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE)
In 1981 Woodson founded the CNE (Now the
Woodson Center
Robert Leon Woodson Sr. (born April 8, 1937) is an American civil rights activist, community development leader, author, and founder and president of the Woodson Center. The Woodson Center is a non-profit research and demonstration organization t ...
) to promote "self-help" solutions in low income neighborhoods by promoting and supporting indigenous leaders in those neighborhoods.
Violence-free zones
The CNE created the
Violence-Free Zones program to reduce the level of violence in schools and help at-risk youth escape the life of violence and crime.
Woodson Center
On November 15, 2016, the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise was rebranded as the Woodson Center as a tribute to Founder and President, Robert Woodson, Sr.
"1776 Unites" campaign
In February 2020, The Woodson Center launched the 1776 Unites campaign, with the support of scholars, journalists, and entrepreneurs like
Carol Swain
Carol Miller Swain (born March 7, 1954) is a retired professor of political science and law at Vanderbilt University. A frequent television analyst, she is the author and editor of several books. Her interests include race relations, immigration, ...
,
Glenn Loury
Glenn Cartman Loury (born September 3, 1948) is an American economist, academic, and author. He is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University, where he has taught since 2005. At the age of ...
, John Sibley Butler,
Clarence Page
Clarence Page (born June 2, 1947) is an American journalist, syndicated columnist, and senior member of the '' Chicago Tribune'' editorial board.
Early years
Page was born in Dayton, Ohio, and attended Middletown High School in Middletown whe ...
,
Wilfred Reilly,
Robert Cherry, and
Coleman Hughes
Coleman Cruz Hughes (born February 25, 1996) is an American writer and podcast host. He was a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a fellow and contributing editor at their '' City Journal'', and is the host of the podcast ' ...
, among others. Woodson has stated that his central motivation in founding 1776 Unites was to counter the "lethal" narratives embedded in the
1619 Project
The 1619 Project is a long-form journalism endeavor developed by Nikole Hannah-Jones, writers from ''The New York Times'', and ''The New York Times Magazine'' which "aims to reframe the country's history by placing the consequences of slavery an ...
.
"This garbage that is coming down from the scholars and writers from 1619 is most hypocritical because they don't live in communities
hat are
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
suffering," he said. In an interview with
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
host
Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, Liberty & Levin'' on Fox News. Levin worked in the admin ...
, Woodson called the 1619 Project's thesis "one of the most diabolical, self-destructive ideas that I've ever heard".
He argued that the assumptions behind the 1619 Project are actually a form of "
white supremacy
White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
" as they are predicated on black Americans having no agency and being incapable of overcoming adverse circumstances.
Awards
* 1990
MacArthur Fellows Program MacArthur "Genius" award
* 2008
Bradley Prize
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, commonly known as the Bradley Foundation, is an American charitable foundation based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that primarily supports conservative causes.
The foundation provides between $35 million and $ ...
* 2008
Presidential Citizens Award
* 2008 Social Entrepreneurship Award from the
Manhattan Institute
The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (renamed in 1981 from the International Center for Economic Policy Studies) is a conservative American think tank focused on domestic policy and urban affairs, established in Manhattan in 1978 by Anto ...
Works (selection)
"Red, White, and Black: Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers" Robert L. Woodson Sr. (editor, essays by twenty authors), Emancipation Books, May 18, 2021
*
*
* ''Youth Crime and Urban Policy, A View From the Inner City'', American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1981,
* ''On the Road to Economic Freedom: An Agenda for Black Progress,'' Editor Robert L. Woodson, Regnery Gateway, 1987,
* ''A Summons to Life, Mediating Structures and the Prevention of Youth Crime'', Ballinger Pub. Co., 1981,
''The Triumphs of Joseph: How Today's Community Healers are Reviving Our Streets and Neighborhoods'' Simon and Schuster, 1998,
* ''Black Perspectives on Crime and the Criminal Justice System: A Symposium'', editor Robert L. Woodson, G. K. Hall, 1977,
Honorary degrees
* University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Honorary Doctorate, 2012 (Doctor of Humane Letters)
* Colorado Christian University, Denver, CO, Honorary Doctorate, 2010 (Doctorate of Humanities)
References
External links
Woodson Center1776 Unites*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Robert
1937 births
American Enterprise Institute
American social workers
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni
Living people
MacArthur Fellows
People from Philadelphia
United States Air Force airmen
University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice alumni
Presidential Citizens Medal recipients