[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16539]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    IN TRIBUTE TO LEONARD H. ROBINSON, COMMITTEE ADVOCATE FOR AFRICA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 28, 2006

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Leonard H. 
Robinson, a humble and committed public servant whose judgment and 
insight helped further USA policy initiatives in Africa and whose 
dedication and leadership helped change the lives on two different 
continents. Mr. Robinson who was a strong advocate for Africa, and for 
the rights of others, died unexpectedly at Washington Hospital Center 
on July 25, 2006 of kidney failure following a short illness. Mr. 
Robinson's belief in the potential of Africa motivated others to look 
beyond themselves to see how their actions could be used to benefit 
others.
  Born in North Carolina, Robinson earned a BA from Ohio State and did 
graduate studies at the State University of New York, the American 
University and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. Mr. 
Robinson believed that if you can conceive it, then you can achieve it, 
and he proved that with all of his many accomplishments. At the tender 
age of 23, Mr. Robinson was named the associate Director for India for 
the Peace Corps, where he later became the director of minority 
recruitment. Mr. Robinson left America at a time when people were not 
learning from one another to serve in a country that benefited from his 
help as a black man. This experience shaped how he envisioned the rest 
of the world, laying the groundwork for a long and successful career in 
the public sector.
  Following his work in the Peace Corps, Mr. Robinson served two terms 
as a deputy assistant secretary of State for Africa. From 1983-1984 
during the Reagan administration, Robinson oversaw economic and 
commercial policy at the State Department. When he returned to the 
African Bureau in 1990, he coordinated U.S policy toward west and 
central Africa and directed U.S diplomatic efforts to end Liberia's 
civil war, until President Bush left office in 1994. During that time, 
for six years between his State Department postings, Robinson served as 
president of the U.S. African Development Foundation which was 
established by Congress to provide small-scale assistance to community 
based organizations in Africa.
  Also in 2001, Robinson helped in the creation of the Africa society 
to carry on public awareness and support for Africa as a direct 
outgrowth of the historic National Summit on Africa. This National 
Summit was initiated with funding from the Ford Foundation and the 
Carnegie Corporation of New York to build support for Africa in the 
United States. He was named President of the organization in 1999.
  The Africa Society is helping educate America about Africa and has 
assisted in the expansion of a broad base of support for Africa through 
the initiatives taken on by Mr. Robinson. Bernadette Paolo, vice 
president and co-founder of the Africa Society said that Mr. Robinson 
``gave everything he had to the Africa society, and to the continent of 
Africa for over 30 years. He contributed brilliance, passion, and 
visionary leadership. He was our founder, our inspiration and our star. 
His memory will serve to move us forward on our mission to educate all 
Americans about Africa''.
  Africa for a long time and perhaps still is considered a poor and 
aids stricken ``country'' and not a rich and diverse continent. The 
African Society with Mr. Robinson's leadership has attacked this 
misconception. We all mourn the loss of such a true pioneer.
  I enter into the Congressional Record the press release written about 
his life published by the Africa Society of the National Summit on 
Africa on July 25, 2006. As more and more American's perceptions and 
policy decisions change towards Africa, we must forever reflect on the 
individuals who gave their life so that we can begin the process of 
understanding the lives of others. One will not be able to speak about 
the progress between the USA and Africa without bringing up his name, 
for he has without a doubt made great contributions to achieving 
understanding between us.

       [From the Africa Society of the National Summit on Africa]

             Africa Society Staff--Leonard H. Robinson, Jr.

       Leonard Robinson has more than 30 years working and living 
     experience in international affairs, with Africa and Asia as 
     regions of specialization. He served as Deputy Assistant 
     Secretary of State for African Affairs, from 1983-85 where he 
     was responsible for economic and commercial policy. And, as 
     Deputy Assistant Secretary of State from 1990-1993, he was 
     responsible for U.S. policy toward Central and West Africa. 
     His other portfolios for Africa included Narcotics, 
     Terrorism, Democracy and the Peace Corps. He also directed 
     U.S. diplomatic initiatives to help in the resolution of the 
     Liberia civil war.
       Robinson spent six years as President of the U.S. African 
     Development Foundation, established by Congress in 1981 to 
     provide official assistance to community-based organizations 
     and grassroots enterprises throughout Africa. During his 
     tenure, annual Congressional appropriations increased from an 
     initial $lm to $17m. He has also worked with the U.S. Agency 
     for International Development, the Battelle Memorial 
     Institute, and the Peace Corps where he served as a 
     volunteer, Associate Director for India and as Director of 
     Minority Recruitment for the United States.
       A native of North Carolina, Robinson received a BA from 
     Ohio State University; and attended graduate school at the 
     State University of New York, Binghamton, and post graduate 
     school at the American University, Washington, DC, and 
     Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is the 
     recipient of two honorary doctoral degrees.
       He is professor of African Studies at the University of 
     Massachusetts--Boston, and Senior Fellow at the Center for 
     Development and Democracy at the John W. McCormack Institute, 
     the University's think tank. He founded LHR International 
     Group, Inc. in 1997, a political policy consulting firm 
     specializing in the analysis of U.S. foreign policy for the 
     heads of state and foreign ministers of African and Asian 
     nations.
       Mr. Robinson and colleagues founded The Africa Society in 
     2001 as a direct outgrowth of the historic National Summit on 
     Africa. The mission of the Africa Society is to educate and 
     inform all Americans about the great and diverse continent of 
     Africa. With a grant supported by the Ford Foundation and the 
     Carnegie Corporation of New York, the National Summit on 
     Africa was established in 1997 to educate all Americans about 
     Africa, to build a broad constituency of support for Africa 
     in the United States, and to formulate a National Policy Plan 
     of Action on U.S.-Africa Relations in the Twenty-First 
     Century--the Summit held a historic conference on Africa in 
     Washington, D.C., February 16-20, 2000. Over 8,000 Americans 
     from every state, as well as continental Africans, attended. 
     Robinson will continue to serve as President and CEO of the 
     newly established Africa Society of The National Summit on 
     Africa.
       Robinson is the author of several articles and 
     publications, and serves on a number of boards and advisory 
     councils including the National Peace Corps Association, and 
     Discovery Channel's Global Education Fund. In 2005 Mayor 
     Anthony Williams appointed and swore in Robinson to the Board 
     of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia. A 
     frequent speaker, he has made presentations at World Affairs 
     Councils throughout the U.S., the Economic Commission for 
     Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at UNC-Chapel Hill, UMass-
     Boston, Eastern Connecticut University, UCLA, The Monterey 
     Language Institute and the Miller Center at the University of 
     Virginia.
       The University of Virginia appointed Robinson as its first 
     Diplomat Scholar in Residence in August 2004. He has been 
     listed in Who's Who in America since 1985.

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