Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Long Road to Hard Truth
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1963
WEBSITE: https://hardtruthbook.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Wilkins * https://hardtruthbook.com/author/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born 1963, in Muncie, IN.
EDUCATION:Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, B.A., 1986; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1989.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, judge, 2014-present. Worked previously as a law clerk to the Honorable Earl B. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, 1989-1990; as a special attorney and then Special Litigation Chief law clerk to the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, 1990-2002; as a partner at Venable LLP, 2002-2010; as United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, 2010-2014.
MEMBER:Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, chairman of the Site and Building Committee of the Presidential Commission.
AWARDS:National Law Journal, 40 Under 40 Most Successful Young Litigators in America, 2002. 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years, Legal Times, 2008.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Robert Leon Wilkins is the judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Born in Muncie Indiana, Wilkins received his bachelor’s degree from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1986. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, in 1989. Following graduation, Wilkins worked as a law clerk to the Honorable Earl B. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California for a year and then as Special Litigation Chief law clerk to the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia until 2002.
Wilkins was nominated to be United States District Judge for the District of Columbia by Barack Obama in 2010, a position he held until becoming judge of the United States Court of Appeals in 2014. Wilkins was instrumental in the creation of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016.
Wilkins’ first book, Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture, tells the story of the struggles that advocates for a cultural site dedicated to African American history and culture have faced, and the motivations for creating such a memorial.
The history begins in 1916, with an attempt to erect a memorial to honor black soldiers. The desire to create this memorial was in part a response to a massive military parade honoring the end of the civil war. 200,000 veterans marched over two days, but African American veterans felt denied, due to the fact that they were treated like second-class citizens at the celebrations.
By the 1920s, the idea of a monument had expanded into plans for a larger cultural center, honoring broader African American contributions to the United States. Three attempts to allocate national funding toward the project, in 1929, 1964, and in 1995, were killed either through underfunding or neglect.
Wilkins addresses the numerous barriers the project has faced. Political, financial, and otherwise, as well as its, at times, limited support both within and outside of the African American community. While illustrating the history of the museum, Wilkins also includes his own personal narrative into the book. He writes about his work to advocate for the project, and the lessons he has learned about politics in America.
A contributor to Kirkus Reviews wrote: “Given all the historical minutiae that Wilkins provides, it’s a surprisingly gripping historical drama. A delightful, edifying tale written with intelligence and emotional sensitivity.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2016, review of Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Publishers Weekly, February 13, 2017, review of Long Road to Hard Truth, p. 68.*
The Author
Judge Robert L. Wilkins was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on January 15, 2014. A native of Muncie Indiana, he obtained a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 1986 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1989. Following law school, Judge Wilkins served as a law clerk to the Honorable Earl B. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. In 1990, he joined the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where he served first as a staff attorney in the trial and appellate divisions and later for several years as Special Litigation Chief. In 2002, he joined the law firm of Venable LLP as a partner, handling white-collar defense, intellectual property and complex civil litigation matters. During his tenure with the Public Defender Service and in private practice, Judge Wilkins served as the lead plaintiff in Wilkins, et al. v. State of Maryland, a landmark civil rights lawsuit that inspired nationwide legislative and executive reform of police stop-and-search practices and the collection of data regarding those practices. Judge Wilkins also played a key role in the establishment of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (scheduled to open in September 2016 on the National Mall), serving as the Chairman of the Site and Building Committee of the Presidential Commission whose work led to the Congressional authorization of the museum and the selection of its location. As a practicing lawyer, he was named one of the “40 under 40 most successful young litigators in America” by the National Law Journal (2002) and one of the “90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years” by the Legal Times (2008). On December 27, 2010, Judge Wilkins was appointed United States District Judge for the District of Columbia, where he served until his appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
Robert L. Wilkins
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Robert Leon Wilkins
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 15, 2014
Appointed by Barack Obama
Preceded by David B. Sentelle
Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
In office
December 27, 2010 – January 24, 2014
Appointed by Barack Obama
Preceded by James Robertson
Succeeded by Randolph D. Moss
Personal details
Born Robert Leon Wilkins
1963 (age 53–54)
Muncie, Indiana
Education Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (B.S.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Robert Leon Wilkins (born 1963) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life and education
2 Professional career
3 Wilkins v. Maryland State Police
4 Judicial service
4.1 District Court
4.2 Nomination to U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Early life and education[edit]
Wilkins was born in 1963 in Muncie, Indiana,[1] where he was raised by a single mother.[2] He studied chemical engineering at Rose–Hulman Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 1986.[3] Wilkins then earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1989.[4][5]
Professional career[edit]
After completing law school, Wilkins served as a law clerk for Judge Earl B. Gilliam of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.[6] Wilkins worked at the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia from 1990 to 2002,[1] serving as chief of special litigation from 1996 to 2000.[4] Starting in 2002, Wilkins was a partner at the Washington, D.C. law firm of Venable LLP.[7] Wilkins was a member of the presidential commission that advised President George W. Bush on the establishment of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture.[8] He wrote about this experience, and the long history of the project, in Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture, published in 2016.[5]
Wilkins v. Maryland State Police[edit]
In May 1992, Wilkins was in a rented vehicle with three other family members when they were pulled over by Maryland State Police for violating the speed limit.[9] At the time, the Maryland State Police Department instructed their officers to focus on black males in expensive vehicles when conducting traffic stops.[10] Wilkins filed suit in the case of Wilkins v. Maryland State Police and eventually won a "landmark" settlement against the state of Maryland.[10][11] As part of the case settlement, Maryland was required to maintain records of all traffic stops that resulted in vehicle search requests.[10] The case helped bring national attention to the practice of racial profiling and helped popularize the term "driving while black".[12][13]<
Judicial service[edit]
District Court[edit]
During the 111th Congress, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton recommended Wilkins for filling a vacancy on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[14] On May 20, 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Wilkins to a judgeship on the District Court for the District of Columbia.[4] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 2010.[15] Wilkins received his commission on December 27, 2010.[5]
President Barack Obama delivers a statement announcing the nomination of Robert Leon Wilkins, Cornelia "Nina" Pillard, and Patricia Ann Millett
Nomination to U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit[edit]
On June 4, 2013, Obama nominated Wilkins to serve as a United States Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge David B. Sentelle, who took senior status on February 12, 2013.[16] On October 31, 2013, the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted to report Wilkins' nomination to the floor of the United States Senate in a 10-8, party-line vote.[17] On November 14, 2013, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid motioned to invoke cloture on Wilkins' nomination, seeking to end a filibuster of his nomination by Senate Republicans. The Senate failed to invoke cloture on November 18, 2013 by a vote of 53-38, with 1 senator voting "present".[18] Reid planned to hold a vote on Wilkins' nomination before the Senate adjourned for the year on December 20, but the vote did not take place. Cloture was subsequently invoked on January 9, 2014 by a vote of 55-38, with 1 senator voting "present". He was confirmed by the United States Senate 55-43 on January 13, 2014.[19] His confirmation marked the first time the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit had a full complement of judges in over 22 years since Clarence Thomas left the court on October 23, 1991 upon his joining the United States Supreme Court. He received his commission on January 15, 2014.[5]
After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia on February 13, 2016, Wilkins' name was among those mentioned by court-watchers as a possible successor.[20][21][22]
Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission
to Create the National Museum of African
American History and Culture
Publishers Weekly.
264.7 (Feb. 13, 2017): p68.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and
Culture
Robert L. Wilkins. Proud Legacy, $26.99 (144p) ISBN 978-0-9979104-0-7
In this comprehensive yet refreshingly brisk account, Wilkins, a former public defender, relates the drive to establish
the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The process spanned decades of pervasive racism,
wars and economic crises, and dismissive, hostile, and ineffective Congresses. It's a journey riddled with false starts
and full stops, which Wilkins traces from its earliest notions--a 1916 effort to erect a memorial to honor black soldiers-
-to President Obama's speech at the 2012 groundbreaking ceremony. Throughout, Wilkins weaves the personal story
of his "foolhardy" involvement in advocating for a museum dedicated to black history, culture, and contributions "in
America's front yard." He peppers the book with little-known history, from the failed government-run Freedmen's
Bank, which lost and did not reimburse former slaves' savings, to the changing designs of and bureaucratic squabbles
over the National Mall. The museum also had surprisingly diverse array of proponents, including Mary McLeod
Bethune, James Baldwin, John Glenn, George W. Bush, John Lewis, Rick Santorum, and Cecily Tyson. Wilkins
occasionally gets bogged down in minutiae, but he delivers a passionate narrative of the struggle to honor and share
the complex and powerful stories of African-American people. (BookLife)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and
Culture." Publishers Weekly, 13 Feb. 2017, p. 68. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA482198228&it=r&asid=85511175e0e4501de1f2e7ccfc840d35.
Accessed 15 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A482198228
10/15/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1508109592113 2/2
Wilkins, Robert: Long Road to Hard Truth
Kirkus Reviews.
(Oct. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Wilkins, Robert LONG ROAD TO HARD TRUTH Proud Legacy Publishing (Indie Nonfiction) $26.99 9, 13 ISBN:
978-0-9979104-0-7
A brief history of the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War, a "Grand Review," or a massive military parade, was organized to
celebrate the accomplishments and sacrifices of the Union soldiers. Although 200,000 veterans marched over two
days, African-American soldiers felt disenfranchised from the celebratory affair, in which they were relegated to
second-class status. George Washington Williams, a well-known African-American historian, responded to this
underrepresentation by proposing the construction of a monument commemorating the African-American soldier. In
1915, a re-enactment of the Grand Review was staged, and an organization called the National Memorial Association
formed in response to it, which officially advocated for Williams' proposal. By the 1920s, the original idea of a
monument had grown to encompass a full memorial building of some kind, which would not only honor the martial
valor of African-Americans, but also acknowledge their contributions to the United States in other domains. In 1929,
President Calvin Coolidge signed legislation into law that sanctioned the creation of a National Memorial Building to
Negro Achievement and Contributions to America, but it was a stillborn measure, radically underfunded. Yet another
bill was introduced in 1965 to study the feasibility of a museum devoted to African-American history, but that project,
too, died from neglect, as did another in 1995. Eventually, however, the National African American Museum and
Cultural Complex was formed, and Wilkins, the debut author of this book, was its president. He's spent 20 years
researching this work, which is nearly as much of a purposeful labor of love as the museum itself. In it, he skillfully
relates not only the myriad practical problems--political, financial, and otherwise--that slowed the museum project
down, but also addresses its moral dimension, as well as the sometimes-tepid support the project had in the AfricanAmerican
community. Ultimately, the author furnishes a rigorous history that captures the struggle of AfricanAmerican
people and the proud contributions they made to a country that did not always accept them: "The beauty of
the African American story is that the toil of our people has not been in vain," he writes. Given all the historical
minutiae that Wilkins provides, it's a surprisingly gripping historical drama. A delightful, edifying tale written with
intelligence and emotional sensitivity.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Wilkins, Robert: Long Road to Hard Truth." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Oct. 2016. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466329266&it=r&asid=3380e9acf61550a73f2bd60adf7638f4.
Accessed 15 Oct. 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466329266