In conjunction with Black History Month, The Heritage Foundation salutes the achievements of African Americans in U.S. history and recognizes some of the great leaders who, not only created change at the local level, but also grew to have a national impact. Jay A. Parker was one such American. He was among the first black leaders in the modern conservative movement. He was an early leader of Young Americans for Freedom and learned early on that members of YAF were committed to a truly color blind society. After moving to Washington, DC in the 1970s, he was active in the American African Affairs Association which endeavored to spread freedom and democracy in newly independent African nations. Through his leadership of the Lincoln Institute for Education and Research, Jay Parker rightly earned the title of founding father of the emerging black conservative movement, and, as editor of The Lincoln Review, he gave voice to numerous black conservative intellectuals. He truly was an unsung hero of the African American community and conservative thought.

In celebration of Jay Parker’s legacy, we are honored to host a lecture by Robert L. Woodson, Sr., Founder and President of The Woodson Center. A former civil rights activist himself and past head of the National Urban League Department of Criminal Justice, Mr. Woodson is referred to by many as “godfather” of the neighborhood empowerment movement. For more than four decades he has had a special concern for the problems of youth and youth violence in urban America. In the mold of Jay Parker, Robert Woodson has sought to improve society through expanded educational opportunity, developing neighborhood economies, and advancing polices that protect fundamental freedoms for all people.