Robert Woodson

{{Short description|American civil rights activist (1937–2026)}} {{about||the American botanist|Robert Everard Woodson|the Canadian football defensive back|Robert Woodson (Canadian football)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox person | name = Robert Woodson | image = Robert Woodson by Gage Skidmore.jpg | caption = Woodson in 2014 | birth_name = Robert Leon Woodson | birth_date = {{birth date|1937|4|8}} | birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|5|19|1937|4|8}} | death_place = Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. | education = Cheyney University {{small|(BS)}}<br>University of Pennsylvania<br>{{small|(MSW)}} | occupation = Civil rights activist, writer | spouse = {{marriage|Ellen Hylton|1977}} | children = 4 | awards = Presidential Citizens Medal (2008) }}

'''Robert Leon Woodson Sr.'''<ref name="Fulbright">{{cite web |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021009-4.html |title=Nominations and Appointments |publisher=White House |date=October 9, 2002 |accessdate=June 10, 2021}}</ref> (April 8, 1937 – May 19, 2026) was an American conservative and civil rights activist, community development leader and author. He was founder and president of the Woodson Center, a non-profit research and demonstration organization that supports neighborhood-based initiatives to revitalize low-income communities.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news| url= http://woodsoncenter.org/team_members/robert-l-woodson-sr/|title=Robert L. Woodson, Sr. |publisher= Woodson Center|access-date=February 14, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=February 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021508/http://woodsoncenter.org/team_members/robert-l-woodson-sr/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Woodson was noted for his belief in self-reliance over governmental intervention to address racism and poverty and to lower crime rates.<ref name=NYTobit/> He served as an advisor to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and as a counselor for US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Jack Kemp and US Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.<ref name=NYTobit/><ref name=HUD/>

== Early life, family, military service and education == Robert Leon Woodson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 8, 1937.<ref name=NYTobit/> His father died soon after; Woodson and his four siblings were raised by his mother. In 1954 he dropped out of high school to join the Air Force. While in the Air Force, he passed the GED tests.<ref name=NYTobit/>

After leaving the Air Force, he attended Cheyney University, graduating in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. He subsequently earned his Master of Social Work in 1965 from the University of Pennsylvania.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title= Woodson, Robert L. 1937— |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/woodson-robert-l-1937 |website= Encyclopedia.com |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date= 2026-04-02}}</ref>

== Activism == ===Civil rights=== Woodson was involved in civil rights and community development beginning in 1962.<ref name=NYTobit/> While completing his graduate work, Woodson became active in the civil rights movement, directing and coordinating community development programs for a number of local and national organizations, including the NAACP.<ref name=":1" /> After resigning from the NAACP, Woodson moved to Boston, where he spent three years as a social worker with the Unitarian Services Committee.<ref name=":1" />

As a director of the National Urban League, Woodson began developing a strategy to reduce crime by strengthening community institutions closest to high-crime areas.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=February 25, 2015|title=The Missed Opportunity of Robert Woodson|url=https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/25/the-missed-opportunity-of-robert-woodson|website=The Marshall Project}}</ref> Woodson continued developing the idea of neighborhood empowerment during his time as director of the American Enterprise Institute's Neighborhood Revitalization Project in Washington, D.C. He later became an adjunct fellow at the institute, providing technical support and advice to community groups.<ref name=":1" />

In February 2020, Woodson launched the center's 1776 Unites campaign to counter The 1619 Project.<ref name=NYTobit/> He believed that the 1619 Project by ''The New York Times'' "disparages the American Revolution".<ref name=NYTobit/>

=== Neighborhood empowerment movement === [[File:National African American History Month Reception (46262329225).jpg|thumb|Woodson and President Donald Trump at a White House reception in honor of Black History Month, February 21, 2019]] Woodson's strategy of neighborhood empowerment was to seek solutions to the problems of low-income communities among what he called the social entrepreneurs that are indigenous to these communities. Rather than a poverty program directed by a government agency, Woodson's program seeks out families in these disinvested neighborhoods that have prospered and persevered to learn from their success.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Frezza|first=Bill|date=May 9, 2014|title=Paul Ryan Mentor Bob Woodson Slams War on Poverty |website= Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrezza/2014/05/09/paul-ryan-mentor-bob-woodson-slams-war-on-poverty/#1214d4201f62|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

In 1973 Vernon Jordan, 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, and a better solution was focusing on neighborhood empowerment.<ref name=":3" />

In 1981 Woodson founded the CNE (now the Woodson Center) to promote "self-help" solutions in low income neighborhoods by promoting and supporting indigenous leaders in those neighborhoods.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Smither|first=William|date=October 13, 2015|title= Robert L. Woodson Sr. (1937– )|url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/woodson-sr-robert-l-1937/ |website= blackpast.org |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date= }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Milwaukee Violence Free Zone|url=https://www.greatermilwaukeefoundation.org/grants/grants-at-work/milwaukee-vi/ |website= | publisher= Greater Milwaukee Foundation|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1= Johnson| first1= Byron| last2= Wubbenhorst| first2= William| date=April 2010|title=Richmond Violence-Free Zone Initiative |url= http://www.baylorisr.org/wp-content/uploads/case_richmond.pdf|website= baylorisr.org| publisher= Insitute for Studies of Religion, Baylor University |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref>

===Politics=== By the 1980s, Woodson became part of "Washington's inner circle" and served as an advisor to several Republican politicians, including presidents.<ref name=NYTobit/> He worked closely with President Ronald Reagan and was considered for a government position in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development during the George H. W. Bush administration.<ref name=NYTobit/> He opted to serve as an advisor to HUD Secretary Jack Kemp.<ref name=HUD/>

On November 15, 2016, the CNE was rebranded as the Woodson Center as a tribute to Woodson.<ref name=":2" /> That same year, Woodson was considered as a possible candidate for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the first cabinet of President Donald Trump.<ref name=HUD>{{cite web|url=https://imprintnews.org/featured/bob-woodson-veteran-leader-community-based-solutions-violence-mix-hud-secretary/22982|title=Bob Woodson, Veteran Leader on Community-Based Solutions to Youth Violence, in the Mix for HUD Secretary|date=November 21, 2016 |publisher=Imprint News|accessdate=May 21, 2026}}</ref> Earlier, he had served as a counselor for US Speaker Paul Ryan's housing agenda.<ref name=HUD/>

==Personal life and death== In 1977, Woodson married Ellen Hylton, and together they raised four children: Robert Woodson Jr., Jamal Woodson, Tanya Woodson-Monestel, and Ralph Woodson.<ref name=NYTobit /> On February 8, 2003, his son, Robert L. Woodson Jr., was killed in an automobile accident.<ref name="washpost"> {{cite news |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-242540.html |title= Robert L. Woodson Jr., Community Group's Vice President, Dies |work= The Washington Post |date= 2003-02-11 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121104010501/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-242540.html |archive-date= 2012-11-04 |url-status= dead |via= highbeam.com |access-date= }}</ref>

Woodson died at his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, on May 19, 2026, at the age of 89.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite web|title=Robert Woodson, Leader of the Black Conservative Movement, Dies at 89|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/us/politics/robert-woodson-dead.html|last=McFadden|first=Robert D.|date=May 20, 2026|work=The New York Times|access-date=May 20, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bob Woodson, rest in peace |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/community-family/4577172/bob-woodson-rest-in-peace/ |publisher= | work= Washington Examiner |date=May 20, 2026 |access-date=May 20, 2026}}</ref>

== Awards == * 1990 MacArthur Fellows Program MacArthur "Genius" award<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=MacArthur Fellows|url=https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/ |website= macfound.org| publisher= MacArthur Foundation |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> * 2008 Bradley Prize<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=About the Bradley Prizes|url=https://www.bradleyfdn.org/prizes/about |website= bradleyfdn.org| publisher= Bradley Foundation|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date= }}</ref> * 2008 Presidential Citizens Medal<ref name=NYTobit/> * 2008 Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Manhattan Institute<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Social Entrepreneurship Awards 2008|url=https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/pdf/SE2008.pdf |website= manhattan-institute.org | publisher= Manhattan Institute for Policy Research |archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date= }}</ref> * 2024 William L. Armstrong Award from Colorado Christian University<ref>{{cite web |title=William L. Armstrong Award |url= https://www.ccu.edu/about/leadership/president/all-presidents/bill-armstrong/armstrong-award/ | website= ccu.edu |publisher= Colorado Christian University |access-date=May 24, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207034959/https://www.ccu.edu/about/leadership/president/all-presidents/bill-armstrong/armstrong-award/ |archive-date=December 7, 2025}}</ref>

== Honorary degrees == * University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio: Honorary Doctorate, 2012 (Doctor of Humane Letters)<ref>{{Cite web|last=Fuller |first=DM |date=May 28, 2012 |title=UC News: National Civic Leader Robert L. Woodson, Sr. to Be Awarded Honorary Doctorate from UC |url=https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/legacy/enews/2012/05/e15784.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021093517/https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/legacy/enews/2012/05/national-civic-leader-robert-l-woodson-sr-to-be-awarded-honorary-doctorate-from-uc.html |archive-date=October 21, 2023 |access-date=May 24, 2026|website= uc.edu| publisher= University of Cincinnati |language=en-us}}</ref> * Colorado Christian University, Denver, Colorado: Honorary Doctorate, 2010 (Doctorate of Humanities)<ref>{{cite web |title=Woodson to Receive 2024 Armstrong Award at CCU |url=https://www.ccu.edu/news/2024/woodson/ |website=www.ccu.edu |publisher=Colorado Christian University |access-date=May 24, 2026 |language=en |date=September 30, 2024 |quote=Woodson maintained a lifelong friendship with Armstrong, later serving on the Board of Trustees of Colorado Christian University. The University awarded him an honorary doctorate of humanities in 2010.}}</ref>

== Selected works == * {{cite book |url= https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Red-White-and-Black/Robert-L-Woodson-Sr/9781642937787 |title= Red, White, and Black: Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers |editor-last= Woodson |editor-first= Robert L., Sr. |date= 2021-05-18 |publisher= Emancipation Books |isbn= 978-1-64293-778-7 |via= simonandschuster.com |access-date= }} Essays by 20 authors. * {{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-left-forgets-what-martin-luther-king-stood-for-11579304166|title=The Left Forgets What Martin Luther King Stood For|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=January 17, 2020|accessdate=October 5, 2022|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212174907/https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-left-forgets-what-martin-luther-king-stood-for-11579304166|archivedate=December 12, 2020}} * {{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082000112.html|title=Ganging Up for Good|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 21, 2005|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110125454/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082000112.html|archivedate=November 10, 2012|url-status=dead}} * {{cite book |title= Youth Crime and Urban Policy, A View From the Inner City |year= 1981 |publisher= American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research |isbn= 978-0-8447-2210-8}} * {{cite book |title= On the Road to Economic Freedom: An Agenda for Black Progress |editor-last= Woodson |editor-first= Robert L. |year= 1987 |publisher= Regnery Gateway |isbn= 978-0-89526-578-4}} * {{cite book |title= A Summons to Life, Mediating Structures and the Prevention of Youth Crime |year= 1981 |publisher= Ballinger Pub. Co |isbn= 978-0-88410-826-9}} * {{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=a-n-3VSBdQQC |title= The Triumphs of Joseph: How Today's Community Healers are Reviving Our Streets and Neighborhoods |year= 1998 |publisher= Simon and Schuster |isbn= 978-0-684-82742-1 |via= Google Books |access-date= 2026-05-26}} * {{cite book |title= Black Perspectives on Crime and the Criminal Justice System: A Symposium |editor-last= Woodson |editor-first= Robert L. |year= 1977 |publisher= G. K. Hall |isbn= 978-0-8161-8039-4}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{commonscat}} * [https://woodsoncenter.org/ Woodson Center] * [https://1776unites.org/ 1776 Unites] * {{C-SPAN|24233}} * {{IMDb name| 4250434}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Robert}} Category:1937 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Activists from Philadelphia Category:American Enterprise Institute Category:American social workers Category:Cheyney University of Pennsylvania alumni Category:Civil rights activists from Pennsylvania Category:MacArthur Fellows Category:Pennsylvania independents Category:Presidential Citizens Medal recipients Category:United States Air Force airmen Category:University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice alumni