Roy Wilkins
(1901-1981)

African-American Civil Rights Leader
Headed N.A.A.C.P for 22 years

1969 Presidential Medal of Freedom
1984 Congressional Gold Medal

birthdate: August 30
birthplace:
St. Louis, Missouri

QUOTES

Slowly we have lifeted ourselves by our own bootstraps. Step by halting step, we have beat our way back.

Nothing should be overlooked in fighting for better education. Be persistent and ornery; this will be good for the lethargic educational establishment and will aid the whole cause of public education.

“Muffle your rage. Get smart instead of muscular.”

“The players in this drama of frustration and indignity are not commas or semicolons in a legislative thesis; they are people, human beings, citizens of the United States of America.”

“The talk of winning our share is not the easy one of disengagement and flight, but the hard one of work, of short as well as long jumps, of disappointments, and of sweet success.”

“An enormous discrepancy exists between the way we talk about equality in the abstract and the value as translated into laws and justice.”

 

Kids | Youth | Adults | Calendar | Quotes | Heroes | Stories | The EMILY Fund | Scholarships
DO ONE THING and BetterWorld Kids Clubs are projects of The EMILY Fund (The Emily Silverstein Fund, Inc.)
Hero portraits are included for illustration purposes only - no celebrity endorsement implied

The Emily Fund
Education, Mentorship, Inspiration, Leadership, Youth
- for a Better
World

PO Box 430
Roosevelt, NJ 08555-0430
info@EmilyFund.org