Roy Wilkins

Roy Wilkins was an American civil rights leader who played a key role in the fight for racial equality and social justice in the United States. Born in 1901 in St. Louis, Missouri, Wilkins began his career as a journalist before joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1931.

As a leader of the NAACP, Wilkins worked tirelessly to promote civil rights and social justice, advocating for the desegregation of schools, voting rights, and other important issues affecting Black Americans. He played a key role in the organization’s efforts to challenge discriminatory laws and policies, and he helped to coordinate many of the major civil rights campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s.

Wilkins’ contributions to the fight for civil rights were recognized in 1982, when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. In 2001, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Wilkins as part of its “Black Heritage” series. The stamp features a portrait of Wilkins with the text “Roy Wilkins,” and serves as a tribute to his legacy as a pioneering advocate for racial equality and social justice.