“Robert L. Woodson Sr., a leader…who for a half-century worked to fight racism, poverty and crime in Black American communities by promoting self-help solutions and opposing government assistance, died on Tuesday at his home in Silver Spring, Md. He was 89.

…His core agenda opposed affirmative action and racial preference programs and promoted Black economic development and self-reliance. As the founding president of the Washington-based National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, he created hundreds of programs in blighted areas across America, enlisting grass-roots activists to fight crime, drugs, unemployment, inadequate housing and family conflicts.”