Roy Wilkins

1901 St. Louis, Missouri - 1981 New York, New York

BiographyRoy Wilkins spent most of his childhood in St. Paul, Minnesota with his aunt and uncle. At the University of Minnesota he served as a journalist and editor for a black newspaper the Minnesota Daily and then became an editor for the Kansas City Call in 1923. In 1931 he moved to New York City to become the assistant secretary for the NAACP and then became the editor of the organization's newspaper the The Crisis. In 1950 Wilkins co founded the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and in 1955 became the executive director of the NAACP and kept that position until 1977. He helped to organize and participated in many different marches across the nation during the civil rights movement, he was also a strong believer in non-violent protests. In 1967 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1977 Wilkins was also honored with the title of Director Emeritus by the NAACP.

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