Dr. Walters was the director of the African American Leadership Institute. He was also the Campaign Manager for the presidential run of Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1984. I knew Ron as a mentor and friend. He was also on the faculty here at Syracuse University at one point in his career, long before my own. He was one of the most respectable and accomplished black scholars I've ever met, and he was appreciated by nearly everyone. His advice on leadership, activism and black empowerment was second to none.
I reached out to a few friends to get their takes on Professor Walters and many of them were very happy to reply. They were saddened to see the end of Ron's life and career, but most of them understood the urgency of continuing his meaningful work. I haven't been able to catch up with Rev. Jesse Jackson yet, but I'll be on his show Sunday morning. Ron and I have been on Rev. Jackson's show together in the past, and few people were impacted more by Dr. Walters than Rev. Jackson himself.
NAACP President Ben Jealous had this to say:
"I first met Ron when I was 20 and had just been suspended from college for leading campus protests. He sat me down and explained how to build real power for people who others thought permanently powerless. Those lessons guided my life's work for almost 20 years."
Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee said this:
"Professor Walters was a scholarly giant and was one of America's most insightful analysts of the political landscape, in general, and of the intersection of race, politics and policy, specifically. His scholarly work and sound advice, have assisted many past and present members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and other African American political and civic leaders around the country."
Noted Georgetown University Professor Michael Eric Dyson had this to say about Ronald Walters:
"Professor Walters embodied the noble legacy of fierce intellectual warriors who combat oppression and battle injustice with their pen and voice. His analyses of the political and social plight of black America, and his lucid, eloquent defense of the vulnerable and often forgotten black working classes and the poor, stand as hallmarks of a remarkable and influential vocation. Ron Walters was one of the great intellectual activists and political scientists of our times."
Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal said this:
"Walters was a giant, who continued to toil at an HBCU until late in his career, when so many others were swayed by the glamour of white elite institutions."
Former Green Party Presidential Candidate Cynthia McKinney said:
"This country has lost what it can ill afford - an intellectual giant."
Dr. Peniel Joseph, a Black Political Scholar at Brandeis University, said:
"Dr. Ron Walters was one of the most important political scientists and scholars of his generation, whose prodigious corpus of work cast a strobe-light on racial, political and economic inequalities that impact African Americans both domestically and internationally. Equally important, Dr. Walters was a scholar-activist in the Du Boisian tradition of linking scholarship to advancement of social and political struggle."
Nationally-syndicated radio show host and attorney Warren Ballentine said:
"Ron was the reason so many in my generation had a knowledge of African American politics that was and is so vital to us having a voice in America. We lost a giant."
Gary Flowers of the Black Leadership Forum:
"Dr. Walters was a gentleman, scholar and a prolific political scientist. As a scientist, he not only observed politics, but transformed politics. Dr. Walters was the political engine that powered political campaigns, most notably that of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. He spoke truth to power."
There is no replacing Dr. Ronald Walters. I can't think of a more significant figure in the field of Black Political Science. He was also a good human being. I recall speaking to him at a speaking engagement we did together, and he talked to me like I was his own son. He expressed the importance of young black scholars continuing the legacy of social justice and fighting to do what is right. I will never forget him, and his words will impact me forever. Ronald Walters, may you rest in peace.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.