Ray Robinson (activist)

Ray Robinson
Born
Perry Ray Robinson

(1937-09-12)September 12, 1937[1]
Bogue Chitto, Alabama, U.S.[2]
DisappearedApprox. April 25, 1973 (aged 35) [3]
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, U.S.
StatusMissing for 51 years, 7 months and 2 days
OccupationCivil rights activist
SpouseCheryl Buswell-Robinson
Children3

Perry Ray Robinson (12 September 1937 – c. 25 April 1973) was an African American activist from Alabama during the civil rights movement. He had been active in Mississippi and Washington, D.C., supporting the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign. Robinson disappeared while participating in the 1973 American Indian Movement (AIM) resistance in the Wounded Knee incident on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Robinson's family never saw him again; his wife believed he was killed at the reservation, and struggled to get his disappearance investigated. In 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed that Robinson had been killed and buried on the reservation in April 1973; it released redacted documents to the Robinson family under a Freedom of Information Act suit, including redacted interviews with cooperating witnesses. Robinson was allegedly killed by AIM members during a confrontation. Robinson's remains have not been found. The FBI said it had closed his case.[4][5]

  1. ^ "Black Man Goes To Fight For American Indians 40 Yrs Ago, Then Disappears". NewsOne. 27 April 2012. Retrieved 22 Aug 2014.
  2. ^ "FBI confirms Black activist was killed in Wounded Knee 1973". Indian Country News. 11 March 2014. Retrieved 22 Aug 2014.
  3. ^ "Annie Mae Timeline I - Wounded Knee". Indian Country News. 16 December 2007. Retrieved 22 Aug 2014.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference The Guardian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYPost was invoked but never defined (see the help page).