A Memorial Tribute to Dr. Ralph Watkins

I met Ralph Watkins in the fall of 1970. We were both first year students in the history Ph.D. program at SUNY Buffalo. From the outset we became close friends. For one thing, we had come from similar backgrounds; we came from public housing projects and poor neighborhoods of urban America, we were both the first in our families to go to college, and we both tended to see the world from the perspective of common and ordinary people. Those factors led to both of us having a strong attraction to community history. That is what I remember most about Ralph; his strong interest in community history and his tendency to see historical issues from the perspective of ordinary people.
One example comes to mind. During our graduate school years it was fashionable to view the historical conflict between W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington from the perspective of DuBois and so called “progressive” blacks. Most academic types had a negative view of Washington’s arguments. I think that because of Ralph’s personal background, he was inclined to be more sympathetic to Washington’s point of view. To the mass of ordinary blacks, Washington’s program of trade schools and practical education was especially attractive; it offered them immediate and tangible benefits. While Ralph always showed an understanding and an appreciation of the DuBois faction’s views, he was never willing to denigrate Washington, as so many people did. Years later, researchers discovered Washington’s behind the scenes and secret activities aimed at undermining segregation. After that, many historians began to cast Washington in a more favorable light. Those scholars apparently began to see a value in Washington’s strategy that Ralph had recognized as a graduate student.
Most of Ralph’s research and scholarly interests would fall into the category of community history. His doctoral dissertation was a groundbreaking study that examined the roles of social and community organizations in Buffalo’s black community in the early 20th century. During a visit to the West Coast, he did a similar study of a community in California. He wrote an excellent history of blacks in the downstate region of New York State. Before he left Buffalo, Ralph was involved in the founding of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier and its journal, Afro-Americans in New York Life and History. For 32 years he was an assistant editor of the journal; contributing and refereeing articles, and encouraging younger scholars to get involved in researching and writing community history.
For more than 30 years the Afro-American Historical Association has tried to illuminate the rich history of African Americans in the history of New York State. Ralph Watkins was an active participant in that effort. The Association and Buffalo State College established the “Buffalo Afro-American Microfilmed Collection,” which is now one of the nation’s largest collections of primary sources on a regional African American community. Ralph and I worked together to organize and index the “Buffalo Cooperative Economic Society” papers. That large and fantastic collection of papers of an early 20th century Buffalo black self-help group had been stored in cardboard boxes in a garage for years because the owner didn’t want to discard them. There was no archive or repository that wanted a collection of papers on a local black organization. That is the problem that led us to establish the Afro-American Historical Association. Those papers became the first title to be microfilmed as part of the “Buffalo Afro-American Collection.”
My friendship and interactions with Ralph during more than 30 years helped to shape my life as a historian and teacher. Ralph was a serious and no-nonsense scholar and teacher who demanded adherence to the highest standards of academic excellence. Over the years I worked with Ralph on many history projects, and he always did outstanding work. Just knowing that he was on the team and that he was available for advice and support was always a source of personal reassurance.
With the passing of Ralph Watkins, the history profession lost a unique voice. I lost a true friend, and I will miss him.

Monroe Fordham, Professor Emeritus
Buffalo State College
October 2007