Robert Woodson, RIP

AEI was saddened to hear the passing on May 19 of former scholar and great friend and inspiration Robert Woodson . Over more than six decades, Bob was one of our nation’s most effective and influential civil rights and anti-poverty leaders. He was one of the first to expose the failure of government handouts to help black Americans in the wake of the civil rights movement. He knew the best solutions to poverty, crime, and racism often lay at the local level. And he spent his career putting that belief into action. Across the country, his grassroots advocacy empowered individuals and neighborhoods to build better lives for themselves and achieve the American Dream through the power of personal responsibility, employment, religious faith, and strong families. We were fortunate to have Bob as part of our scholarly community from 1974 to 1981, when he directed our Neighborhood Revitalization Project and pioneered much of this work. Even after he left to found his own organization, the Woodson Center, Bob’s vision has continued to inspire AEI’s scholarship to help low-income Americans, from the triumph of welfare reform in the 1990s to the current efforts of our Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility and the brilliant work of our colleague, Ian Rowe. We will be forever grateful for Bob’s friendship, bravery, and leadership. The post Robert Woodson, RIP appeared first on American Enterprise Institute - AEI .