FACULTY BLOG. Wilkins, the legend: St. Paul can proudly claim the man who helped make civil rights history

By: Dr. Lisa Heinrich

Originally Published in the St. Paul Villager

Roy Wilkins was proud to say he was from St. Paul. Though he was born in St. Louis on August 30, 1901, he moved St. Paul when he was 5 years old, after his mother died, and stayed until a year after he graduated from college. St. Paul was the place where he said he learned people of differing backgrounds could live well together.
After leaving St. Paul, Wilkins went on for 22 years to lead the National Association