HARRY ROBERSON Jr.

1927 - 2019

ROBERSON Dr. HARRY ROBERSON, JR. Dr. Harry Roberson, Jr. passed away on September 26, 2019 at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. Harry was the eldest of five children born to Harry and Farrie Robinson on October 18, 1927 in Malvern, Arkansas. His mother later changed the spelling of the family's surname to Roberson. Harry attended Malvern Colored Elementary and High Schools graduating in 1946. His interest in college began early in his life; he and several of his best friends believed that a better life could only be achieved through education. Unfortunately, the kind of success Harry and his friends envisioned for themselves was not possible in their home town nor in the state of Arkansas. They read magazines, newspapers and books about successful African Americans living in distant cities with college degrees and marketable skills, so they decided to move up north. Harry and his friends realized their hopes for the future in Malvern would be limited to common labor jobs at the Acme Brick Company or Reynolds Metal. However, they were determined to seek other types of employment and opportunities beyond Malvern which would require perhaps a college degree. They were prepared in the 1950s to seek professional opportunities in distant places outside of Arkansas. Harry's high school home room teacher, Ms. Henrietta Fanning, encouraged him to attend college because she saw in him a star pupil; she was sure he would be successful. Ms. Fanning was well-aware of Harry's dire family financial circumstances and she vowed to assist him in expanding his curriculum. Harry's father was a Baptist minister who owned rental property and a grocery store. However, he died at the age of 60 during the middle of the Great Depression and before the enactment by Congress of the Social Security Act in 1935. Thus, Harry's father was ineligible to receive SSI benefits which began in 1940 for seniors age 65. Harry's mother then relied on the goodwill of the First Baptist Church and the community for food for the family. Later, she would benefit from a Food Program sponsored by the Roosevelt Administration in the 1930s for poor and needy families. Therefore, when Harry graduated from high school in 1946, he had no idea how he would manage paying for a college education. As fate would have it, Harry received a letter from Ms. Fanning stating that she had met with Dr. M.L. Harris, President of Philander Smith College (PSC), and recommended him for matriculation at the college. Dr. Harris then offered Harry an offer that he could not refuse: a work scholarship, work in his office to cover his room and board, a football scholarship to cover his tuition!! (Harry had played high school football at Malvern High School). He would play football at PSC for two years and his last two years he found off campus employment as a laborer, cook and dishwasher to help pay his tuition. While at PSC, Harry pledged Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Pi Sigma Chapter; he remained an active member following his graduation. Though many Southern racist politicians would conclude that Black people were inferior and had no ambition and little expectation to be successful college graduates, Harry was single-minded in his pursuit and determination to find employment in his chosen field of business and finance. Considering this hostile racial climate in Arkansas and throughout the South, Harry relocated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1950 following his graduation from Philander Smith College; he found employment immediately in sales and management. In November 1950, Harry was drafted into the U.S. Army and served honorably as a Staff Sergeant for 16 months in Japan and Korea, and was discharged after 21 months of active service. Upon returning to Cleveland, where he remained for the next 22 years, Harry worked as a salesman for the Singer Sewing Machine Company and the Crayton Food Processing Company. Later, he was employed as an administrator with the Ohio Turnpike Com- mission, the U.S. Postal Service, the Cleveland County's Soldier Relief Commission, the Cleveland Urban League Skills Bank Programand the Cuyahoga County Community College Entrepreneurial Program. In recognition of his outstanding managerial skills, Harry was admitted in 1966 to the Western Reserve University, School of Management Training Institute. Later, he enrolled in the Master of Arts Program at the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Harry received his Master of Arts degree in 1967 in Urban Housing and Finance. As an entrepreneur, he became Executive Vice-President of Soul Foods, Inc. which marketed frozen sweet potato pies and other soul foods. In 1972, Harry was recruited by the Office of President Richard M. Nixon to go to Washington DC as a Senior Manager in the President's Program Planning Office. For two years, he worked to design and develop a program to provide private sector jobs and training for welfare recipients to gain employment opportunities. When Congress refused to support the President's program, Harry began a career in the U.S. Department of Labor as a Federal representative and a grant/contracting officer. From 1975-76, Harry was on loan from the Federal government to the Governor of the State of Arkansas to design and implement a Monitoring Program for State Employment and Training Programs. In 1993, Harry received a Distinguished Career Service Award for his sustained high quality and efficiency in the Department of Labor. He remained in the Federal government until his retirement in 1999. Harry never forgot the opportunity and encouragement that Ms. Fanning-Bailey provided him that opened doors of opportunity for him to advance and excel in his chosen career of finance, business and management. Consequently, Harry was always interested in supporting students seeking educational opportunities. From the day that Harry graduated PSC, he provided scholarship assistance to deserving students and supported the National Alumni Association of PSC, receiving in 1989 The Distinguished Alumni Award from the National Alumni Association after serving more than 40 years of active membership. In 1988, he established the Harry Roberson, Jr. Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide annual funds for needy and deserving students at PSC. Harry established this fund because he always felt he had an obligation to PSC without whose support he would not have been able to attend college or lead and live a successful business career. In 2010, Harry Roberson, Jr. was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by Philander Smith College in recognition of his unstinting service and devotion to the ideals and precepts of the College. In spite of humble beginnings and circumstances in Malvern, Arkansas, Dr. Roberson was exemplary in his quest not only to advance professionally, but also to provide inspiration to others to excel regardless of social, racial and economic barriers. A son of a Baptist minister, Dr. Roberson was raised and baptized at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Malvern. He was an active member of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as a trustee and a member of Shiloh Baptist Church, Washington, DC, where he served as a trustee for two terms. He was active in local politics and elected as a member of the DC Democratic State Committee. Also, he served on the Selective Service System as a District Appeal Board Member for the District of Columbia. He is a member of the American Legion, AARP, a life member of the NAACP, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity (Alpha Omega Chapter). In addition to his parents, Harry was preceded in death by his siblings, Cortez and Terrell. He leaves his brother, Joe Leonard (California) and sister Maud (Arkansas). He leaves to cherish his legacy, his nephew, Robert Roberson and his wife, Kenyatta; his best friends, Dr. Arthur and Earlene Smith. He also leaves to mourn his passing, his loving and longtime significant other, Carolyn Davidson (introduced to him by his dear friend, Hattie Dorman, who transitioned earlier this year). Harry and Carolyn traveled extensively throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia and Africa. They also enjoyed many Jazz Cruises, Soul Train Cruises, Mediterranean Cruise, Alaskan Cruise and Viking River Cruise. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way. (Psalm 37:23) On Saturday, October 26, 2019, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Service will be conducted at noon, followed by Visitation at 12:30 p.m. and a Memorial Service at 1 p.m. Both services will be held at Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth St, NW, Washington, DC, Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, Pastor.On Saturday, October 26, 2019, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Service will be conducted at noon, followed by Visitation at 12:30 p.m. and a Memorial Service at 1 p.m. Both services will be held at Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth St, NW, Washington, DC, Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith, Pastor.