Roger Wilkins | |
|---|---|
 Wilkins in 2009 | |
| 15th United States Assistant Attorney General | |
| In office 1966–1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Mabel Walker Willebrandt (1929) |
| Succeeded by | Wesley Pomeroy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 29, 1932 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | March 26, 2017 (aged 85) Kensington, Maryland, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Complications from dementia |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Patricia A. King |
| Children | Elizabeth Wilkins |
| Residence(s) | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan (A.B., J.D.) |
| Occupation |
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Roger Wood Wilkins (January 29, 1932 – March 26, 2017) was an American lawyer, civil rights leader, professor of history, and journalist who served as the 15th United States Assistant Attorney General under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1969.
A member of the Democratic Party, Wilkins was mentored by Supreme Court of the United States Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall early in his career. Throughout the 1960s, Wilkins campaigned for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 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.[1]
Wilkins' uncle, Roy Wilkins, was the former executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1964 to 1977.
- ^ McFadden, Robert D. (March 27, 2017). "Roger Wilkins, Champion of Civil Rights, Dies at 85". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 5, 2022.