Wyatt Tee Walker facts for kids

Wyatt Tee Walker (born August 16, 1928 – died January 23, 2018) was an African-American pastor and a very important civil rights leader. He worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. as his chief of staff.

In 1958, he became an early member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He also helped start a chapter of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE) that same year. From 1960 to 1964, Walker was the executive director of the SCLC. He helped make this group well-known across the country.

Walker started his work as a pastor at Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, Virginia. There, he became deeply involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Later, for 37 years, he was the senior pastor at Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem, New York. He also helped create the Religious Action Network of Africa Action to fight against apartheid in South Africa.

Wyatt Walker's Early Life and Work

Growing Up and Starting Out

Wyatt Walker was born in Massachusetts. He grew up mostly in New Jersey. He went to Merchantville High School. Then he studied at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1953, Walker became a pastor at Gillfield Baptist Church. This church is one of the oldest Black churches in the nation. He quickly became a leader in the fight for social justice. He was arrested many times for protesting against unfair laws. For example, he was arrested for leading a group of African Americans into a "white" library.

Fighting for Equal Rights in Virginia

Walker led two major civil rights groups in Virginia. For five years, he was president of the Petersburg branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He also directed the state branch of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), which he helped start in 1958.

Walker also helped create the Petersburg Improvement Association (PIA). This group worked to end segregation. By 1960, the PIA had 3,000 members. They organized sit-ins at the Trailways bus terminal. This led to lunch counters in Petersburg and other Virginia cities becoming desegregated. This happened a year before the famous Freedom Riders arrived in 1961.

During these years, Walker became very close to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. In 1957, Walker helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). In 1958, King asked Walker to join the SCLC board. Walker spent the next two years building the SCLC in Virginia. He used his connections with church leaders to organize protests against segregation.

Leading the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta

Making the SCLC Stronger

Dr. King invited Walker to move to Atlanta. There, Walker became the SCLC's first full-time executive director. From 1960 to 1964, he helped the SCLC become a powerful group. They worked to end legal segregation for African Americans.

Walker was a strong leader. He improved how the SCLC was run and how it raised money. He also helped organize the staff's many activities.

Planning Key Protests

Walker gave powerful speeches to support student sit-ins. He was also the main planner for "Project C." This was a detailed plan for protests in the Birmingham Campaign in 1963. Walker carefully researched protest locations. He measured how long it would take to walk from the 16th Street Baptist Church to downtown. He also checked out segregated lunch counters.

He made sure the campaign would get national attention. This helped build support for the civil rights cause. The events in Birmingham were shown on national news. This was very important for gaining support from Americans and the government. Walker also helped organize the 1963 March on Washington.

In 1964 and 1965, Walker celebrated big wins for the movement. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. These laws helped end segregation and protect voting rights.

After his work with the SCLC, Walker worked on a new publishing project. It was called the Negro Heritage Library. He helped schools add more African-American history and literature to their lessons and libraries.

Wyatt Walker's Work in Harlem

Pastor and Community Leader

In 1967, Walker became the senior pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem, New York. This was a very important church. He continued to fight for fairness and social justice. He also wrote sacred music.

Walker helped people understand how movements around the world were connected. He hosted many leaders from Africa who were fighting against colonialism and apartheid. One famous visitor was Nelson Mandela from South Africa.

In the 1970s, Walker advised Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller on city issues. In 1975, he earned his doctorate degree. He also studied in Nigeria and Ghana. During his time in Harlem, he wrote books about music, social movements, and community growth.

Fighting Apartheid

Walker became very active in the anti-apartheid movement. In 1978, he started the International Freedom Mobilization. This group worked to show the world the problems of apartheid in South Africa. He also served on the board of the American Committee on Africa (ACOA).

In 1988, Walker helped start the Religious Action Network (RAN) of the ACOA. This was during the peak of the anti-apartheid struggle.

Walker also used his church to help with local economic growth. He wrote about these efforts in a book called The Harvard Paper: The African-American Church and Economic Development (1994). He also led the Central Harlem Local Development Corporation. This group worked to create affordable homes in Harlem.

Because of Walker's important role in the Civil Rights Movement, his papers were collected. They are now at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library. These papers include his letters, speeches, and other writings.

Return to Virginia

After 37 years, Walker retired as senior pastor in 2004. He moved back to Virginia. He taught at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. This was his old college.

Supporting Charter Schools

Walker was concerned about the public schools in Harlem. He helped pass New York State's charter school law in 1998.

In 1999, he worked with Steve Klinsky to start the first charter school in New York State. It is now called the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem. It is named after Walter Sisulu (a friend of Nelson Mandela) and Dr. Walker. This school has performed much better than the traditional public schools in Harlem.

Walker continued to support charter schools from his home in Virginia. In 2016, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. This award had only been given once before, to President Bill Clinton.

In an interview in 2016, Walker said that charter schools are a key civil rights issue today. He believed that Dr. King would have supported them too.

Personal Life

Wyatt Walker married Theresa Ann Walker in December 1950. They had four children. Walker passed away on January 23, 2018, at his home in Chester, Virginia. He was 89 years old.

Books by Wyatt Walker

Walker was very interested in how music, Black church traditions, and social change are connected. He wrote several books on this topic.

• 1979 – Somebody's Calling My Name: Black Sacred Music and Social Change
• 1984 – The Soul of Black Worship: A Trilogy – Preaching, Praying, Singing
• 1985 – Road to Damascus: A Journey of Faith
• 1986 – Common Thieves: A Tithing Manual for Christians and Others
• 1991 – Gospel in the Land of the Rising Sun
• 1994 – The Harvard Paper: The African-American Church and Economic Development
• 1997 – A Prophet from Harlem Speaks: Sermons & Essays

Awards and Recognition

• He received honorary doctorates from Virginia Union University and Princeton University.
• In 1993, Ebony magazine named him one of "The 15 Greatest Black Preachers."
• In 2005, the Sisulu Children's Academy in Harlem was renamed the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem. This honored his leadership in the community.
• In 2007, students in Norfolk, Virginia created a show called Walking with Walker.
• In 2008, Walker was added to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. This is located at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park.

See also

• List of civil rights leaders