Robert L. Woodson Sr., who is founder and president of the Woodson Center, 1776 Unites and Voices of Black Mothers United, will present the lecture “How to Build Resilient Communities and Citizens” on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m. at Hope College in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall.

The public is invited.  Admission is free.

Woodson is an influential leader on issues of poverty alleviation and empowering disadvantaged communities to become agents of their own uplift. He is a frequent advisor to local, state and federal government officials as well as business and philanthropic organizations.

His social activism dates back to the 1960s, when as a young civil rights activist he developed and coordinated national and local community revitalization programs. During the 1970s, he directed the National Urban League’s Administration of Justice division. Later, he served as a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Woodson is frequently featured as a social commentator in print and on-air media, including C-SPAN, CNN, Tucker Carlson Tonight, The Mark Levin Show, Meet the Press, and other national and local broadcasts.  He is a contributing editor to The Hill, The Washington Examiner and The Wall Street Journal, and has published in influential newspapers and journals such as Forbes, National Review, The Washington Post, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Vanderbilt Law Review, and other national and local media outlets.

He is the recipient of the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship award, the Bradley Prizes presented by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the Presidential Citizens Medal, the 2018 William Wilberforce Award, The Heritage Foundation’s 2020 Salvatori Prize for American Citizenship, Hillsdale College’s Freedom Leadership Award, and many other awards and honors.

Woodson is the author of several books, including “On the Road to Economic Freedom,” “The Triumphs of Joseph: How Today’s Community Healers Are Reviving Our Streets and Neighborhood,” “Lessons From the Least of These:  The Woodson Principles,” and the newly released #1 best seller, “Red, White and Black: Rescuing American History from Revisionists and Race Hustlers.”

Woodson is being brought to campus by the Gerald R. Ford Leadership Forum.  His presentation is co-sponsored by the college’s Department of Political Science.