When Julian Haliga, Sr. was a child, he was priced out of Little League. “Little League was a hundred bucks. I couldn’t even play in Little League as a kid.” That experience never left him. Today, Julian leads the Milwaukee Baseball Club Community Center in Milwaukee,...
From slave to one of LA’s richest women? Only in America
By Will Crossley As our country celebrates its 250th year, we face a question larger than commemoration: What story about our nation will we hand to the next generation? Too often, we push Americans to choose between two incomplete narratives: One denies the...
Renewal and Resilience – The Josephs: Why the Leaders Who Can Save Our Communities Are Invisible
Bob Woodson had a rule for the people he looked for. They weren't in the press release. They weren't at the conference. They weren't applying for the grant or crafting the narrative that would attract the foundation funding. "The quality that makes them effective," he...
The Architects of American Renewal | Opinion
Our country still needs leaders who didn’t nurse grievances but chose the path of radical grace. By Robert L. Woodson, Sr. The 250th birthday of the United States presents a unique moment to celebrate beyond flag-waving, anthem-singing and praising the wisdom of the...
Robert L. Woodson, 1937-2026 | Wall Street Journal Opinion
He challenged the civil-rights orthodoxy that the poor need big government to rise. By the Editorial Board The American civil-rights movement has many heroes, and one of the most unsung was Robert L. Woodson Sr. The native of South Philadelphia, who died Tuesday at...
The Poverty Industry Bob Woodson Has Been Documenting for Fifty Years
There is a statistic in Episode 2 of Resilience and Renewal that Bob Woodson has been citing for decades — and it has never stopped being stunning. Between 1930 and 1940, racism was enshrined in American law. The Great Depression left 25% of white Americans and 40% of...
Renewal and Resilience – We Were Broke, But We Were Not Poor
There is a sentence near the beginning of the first episode of Resilience and Renewal that stops you cold. Bob Woodson is describing the South Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up during segregation — a tight-knit, working-class Black community where his father...
Jesse Jackson, the Prophet Who Became a Politician | Opinion
He challenged black Americans in the 1960s and ’70s, then retreated into victimhood and grievance. By Robert L. Woodson Sr. At a memorial service for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, his son Jesse Jr. praised his “consistent prophetic voice.” There is truth to that. The Jesse...
Black History is a Story of Triumph and Resilience, Not Just Oppression | Opinion
By Will Crossley Black history is American history. The Black experience is the American experience. It’s an experience that rejects being bound down, rejects subjugation — whether from a British crown or an overseer’s whip — and embraces the freedom of self-reliance....
Elites Are Fighting for Power. Everyone Else Is Fighting for Meaning. | Opinion
by Bob Woodson Where is our attention? Across the country, the loudest voices insist that America is tearing itself apart. Talking heads shout. Single-issue campaigns divide. Experts sort citizens into warring tribes. But beneath the noise, a quiet and shared sense of...