| ABOUT THE CENTER
History
The Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice was founded in 1992 as a joint effort of the University of Minnesota and the Roy Wilkins Foundation to carry on the legacy of Roy Wilkins, former chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It is the only endowed center, and chair, in Mr. Wilkins' memory in the United States.
A 1923 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Mr. Wilkins spent 46 years with the NAACP, including 22 as its top executive. During his tenure, the NAACP led the nation into the Civil Rights movement and spearheaded the efforts that led to significant civil rights victories, including Brown vs. Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Mr. Wilkins believed that consensus building, dialogue, and pursuit through legal channels were the most effective agents of change for racial equality. In 1967, Mr. Wilkins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson.
Five years after Mr. Wilkins' death in 1981, the Roy Wilkins Foundation, led by his widow, Aminda, approached the University of Minnesota to establish the Roy Wilkins Chair of Human Relations and Social Justice and found a research center devoted to the study of inequality and issues of concern to people of color. The Chair and Center were to be located at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. The University and the Wilkins Foundation worked together to raise funds to support the Chair and Center. In 1992, after a $2 million endowment had been established, and through the support of corporations, foundations, individuals, and the University of Minnesota, the Wilkins Chair and Center were formally established.
The Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice was given the mandate to carry on Mr. Wilkins' work through cutting-edge research, dialogue, and consensus among people of all communities. The Roy Wilkins Chair and Center were inaugurated with the appointment of Dr. Samuel L. Myers, Jr., an economist, as Chair holder and Director. Dr. Myers directs the Center and oversees a staff of program professionals, graduate students, and doctoral research associates.
The Future
The Wilkins Center continues to press its agenda into the future, adding working on anti-racism initiatives in the Upper Midwest and improving information sharing between community organizations and research institutions like the Humphrey Institute to its already impressive portfolio of research and outreach initiatives.
Using its integrated method of research, dialogue, and community partnerships, the Wilkins Center will continue to make significant contributions to policy development at the local and national level and to improving the lives of people of color at all levels.
|
