UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Law at University Park and Penn State Dickinson Law communities are mourning the loss of Randall Robinson, civil rights pioneer, activist, author, human rights advocate, international humanitarian, and professor, who died from aspiration pneumonia on March 23 in Basseterre, St. Kitts (where he lived in self-imposed exile from the U.S. for more than two decades), at the age of 81.
“Randall Robinson was an intellectual giant,” said Victor Romero, interim dean of Penn State Law in University Park and the School of International Affairs, Maureen B. Cavanaugh Distinguished Faculty Scholar, and professor of law. “His pathbreaking work in the area of international human rights and social justice, especially regarding the history and condition of Africans and African-Americans, was particularly influential and still resonates today. He will be sorely missed.”
After graduating from high school in the segregated South in Richmond, Virginia, Robinson attended Norfolk State College (now University) and entered the U.S. Army during his junior year. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Virginia Union University, prior to earning his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School in 1970.
During his final year of law school, Robinson cofounded the Southern Africa Relief Fund and worked as a Ford Foundation Fellow in Tanzania, East Africa. He founded and was the president of TransAfrica Forum to promote U.S. policies toward Africa and the Caribbean.
“Professor Randall Robinson was and remains a source of light and inspiration for all Americans, especially African-Americans, the latter of whom are able to connect to their ancestors through his compelling work ‘Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America,’” said Danielle M. Conway, dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law.
Conway continued, “His commitment to the continent of Africa, through his founding and leadership of TransAfrica, cemented him as one of the most influential activists of his time. We are better law schools because Professor Robinson shared this work and his teachings with us at Penn State.”
Robinson worked at Penn State jointly as professor of law at University Park and as a professor at the Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA) from 2008 to 2016.
“Randall Robinson was a towering figure in the struggle for civil rights and for giving Africa the attention it deserves,” said retired Ambassador Dennis Jett, professor of international affairs. “He was one of the most influential and respected professors that the law school and SIA have ever had,” he continued, “He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.”
In 2008, Robinson was named a Distinguished Scholar in Residence by the previously unified Penn State Dickinson School of Law, where he taught human rights law until 2016. He was a pioneer in the Penn State legal community when he hosted the publicly televised groundbreaking series, “World on Trial” in 2012, which was internationally broadcast.
“World on Trial,” a collaboration between the unified law school, Penn State Public Media, Penn State School of International Affairs, and Penn State Global, showcased the best legal minds in the world, including judges, attorneys, witnesses, and juries at leading universities around the globe, and put countries on trial to measure compliance with international human-rights law. The goal was to raise public awareness on important human rights issues and the international treaties that governed them.
“Randall Robinson was passionate about his fight for human rights and justice for all, but especially for historically marginalized and oppressed communities,” said Tiyanjana Maluwa, H. Laddie Montague Chair in Law and professor of law at Penn State Law. “He believed that teaching human rights should not just be about exploring and discussing theoretical concepts from a purely academic perspective, but also introducing students to the practical relevance and necessity of human rights activism and advocacy on the ground.”
A best-selling author of seven books and the recipient of 19 honorary doctorate degrees from universities in recognition of his work in social justice advocacy, Robinson had also been given the highest honor that a non-citizen of South Africa can receive from the Government of South Africa, for playing a pivotal role in the passage of the comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act which led to the end of apartheid in Africa and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.
“He [Robinson] drew from his previous experience as a civil rights attorney and activist here in the U.S., and as a champion of the fight for racial equality and justice against the apartheid regime in South Africa, for which he will always be remembered,” said Maluwa.
In 1994, Robinson’s 27-day hunger strike led to the Clinton Administration changing its policy on Haitian refugee repatriation and the eventual restoration of Haiti’s democratic government. He also earned a medal in honor of his work in human rights from the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill in New York.
Besides being a civil rights attorney and a staff attorney at the beginning of his career, Robinson was also a contributor to many popular news programs. His policy recommendations and views were seen and heard across news media outlets including CNN, NPR, “Nightline,” C-SPAN, “ABC World News Tonight,” “The Tavis Smiley Show,” “The Charlie Rose Show,” and other American television networks and programs.
Robinson is survived by two children from his first marriage, Anike Robinson and Jabari Robinson; by his wife, Hazel Ross-Robinson, and their daughter, Khalea Ross Robinson; and two sisters, Jewell Robinson Sheppard and the Rev. Dr. Jean Robinson-Casey.