James Herman Robinson facts for kids

James Herman Robinson (born January 24, 1907 – died November 6, 1972) was an important African-American leader and helper of people. He is best known for starting Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA). This program allowed young people from different cultures to visit and help each other. Many people see it as an early version of the Peace Corps.

Robinson was also part of the first National Advisory Council for the Peace Corps. He gave advice to the U.S. State Department about issues in Africa. He also helped create the Morningside Community Center in Harlem and co-founded the African Academy of Arts and Research. He strongly supported African nations becoming independent.

The Life of James Herman Robinson

Early Life and Learning

James Herman Robinson was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He was one of six children. His early childhood was spent in a tough neighborhood in downtown Knoxville. He was unhappy with the unfair treatment and poverty he saw around him. He found inspiration from his grandfather, who was a former slave and fought in the Civil War. A Baptist minister named Jim Haywood also greatly influenced him.

When James was about 10, his family moved to Cleveland to find jobs in the factories during World War I. After his mother passed away, he lived with his grandparents for a short time in Youngstown, Ohio. Then he returned to Cleveland. Even though his family didn't always support his schooling, Robinson finished high school. He then started college at Western Reserve University. After two semesters, a minister named C. Lee Jefferson offered to pay for his training to become a minister if he joined the Presbyterian Church.

In 1931, Robinson enrolled in Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania. During the summer of 1933, he helped lead a small Black church in Bearden, a rural area near Knoxville. He encouraged the people in his church to vote and get more involved in politics. This upset some white residents in Bearden. He eventually had to leave the community because of the danger he faced.

Robinson graduated at the top of his class from Lincoln in 1935. He then went to Union Theological Seminary in New York. He was the president of his class there. At Union, a professor named Harry F. Ward had a big impact on Robinson. Ward taught about Social Christianity, which meant using Christian beliefs to work for social fairness.

Helping Others and Africa

After becoming a minister in 1938, Robinson became the pastor of the Morningside Presbyterian Church in Harlem. It was soon renamed the Church of the Master. That same year, he started the Morningside Community Center. He also helped set up a cooperative store and a credit union for the local community. In 1942, Robinson created a summer camp called Rabbit Hollow in New Hampshire. It was a place where children of all backgrounds could come together. The next year, he helped start the African Academy of Arts and Research.

In 1951, Robinson traveled to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia for the Presbyterian Church. He visited missionaries and looked for ways the church could help people in those areas. In 1954, he took a similar trip to Africa. He suggested that the church should focus on practical help for Africa. This meant sending doctors, engineers, and other skilled people, rather than just missionaries. He shared his ideas about helping Africa in talks at Yale University in 1955. Many important people, like William O. Douglas and Theodore Hesburgh, supported his plans. African leaders such as Nnamdi Azikiwe also backed his efforts.

Robinson's hard work led to the creation of Operation Crossroads Africa (OCA) in 1958. This program gave students and professionals a chance to volunteer in Africa. They helped build important things like water systems, schools, clinics, and orphanages in villages. The OCA also started teacher training programs that taught thousands of teachers in just a few years. By the 1970s, more than 4,000 students had volunteered with the OCA.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union were competing for influence around the world. The U.S. government was worried about communism spreading in African nations. They asked Robinson for his advice on how to work with the new African governments. Robinson told U.S. officials not to always support European colonial powers over African independence movements. He also said that communism was not a big threat among African people. Robinson was later appointed to the State Department's Advisory Council on African Affairs.

When the Peace Corps was created in 1961, President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver recognized Robinson's great work with OCA. They asked for his advice on how to organize aid efforts in developing countries. President Kennedy later said that the OCA was the "progenitor" (meaning the original idea or model) for the Peace Corps. Robinson served as a vice chairman on the Peace Corps' National Advisory Council.

On May 5, 1964, Robinson spoke before the House Un-American Activities Committee. This committee was looking into people who were suspected of having communist sympathies. These suspicions came from Robinson's connections with some communists in the 1940s and comments in his 1954 book, Tomorrow Is Today. Robinson said he was never a communist. However, he explained that before World War II, he had worked with communists who supported causes he believed in, like civil rights.

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Robinson as a special representative to Bechuanaland (which is now Botswana) and Basutoland (which is now Lesotho). Later, he also organized cross-cultural programs in the Caribbean and South America. James Herman Robinson passed away at St. Luke's Hospital in New York on November 6, 1972.