Robert Woodson, Leader of the Black Conservative Movement, Dies at 89

Robert L. Woodson Sr. worked for decades to address racism, poverty, and crime in Black American communities through self-help solutions and opposition to government assistance. He rose to prominence alongside civil rights protesters and Black leaders seeking economic and social gains through federal laws and courts. In the 1980s he gained access to Washington’s political circle, advising Republican presidents and becoming a frequent media voice. His agenda opposed affirmative action and racial preference programs while promoting Black economic development and self-reliance. As founding president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, he created hundreds of programs in blighted areas, mobilizing grassroots activists to tackle crime, drugs, unemployment, inadequate housing, and family conflicts. He also criticized the 1619 Project, which reframed American history around the arrival of enslaved Africans in 1619.

"In 2019, though, Mr. Woodson was among the most vehement critics when The New York Times Magazine launched its 1619 Project, with essays, articles and a campaign to reframe history by marking America's founding not from the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, but from the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in the Virginia colony in 1619."

Read at www.nytimes.com