Roy Innis

Roy Emile Alfredo Innis (born June 6, 1934, in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands) has been National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (also known as CORE) since his election to the position in 1968.

One of his sons, Niger Innis also serves the Congress of Racial Equality as its National Spokesman.

Early life

In 1946 Innis moved with his mother from the U.S. Virgin Islands to New York City, where he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1952. [cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFD8173AF936A15756C0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print |title=Innis Campaign for Mayor: A Quixotic Quest? |first=Jonathan |last=Hicks |date=1993-05-25 |publisher=New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-02] At age 16, Innis joined the U.S. Army, and at age 18 he received an honorable discharge. He entered a four-year program in chemistry at the City College of New York. He subsequently held positions as a research chemist at Vick Chemical Company and Montefiore Hospital. [cite web |url=http://www.core-online.org/Staff/roy.htm |title=Roy Innis |accessdate=2007-11-02]

Early civil rights years

Innis joined CORE’s Harlem chapter in 1963. In 1964 he was elected Chairman of the chapter’s education committee and advocated community-controlled education and black empowerment. In 1965, he was elected Chairman of Harlem CORE, after which he campaigned for the establishment of an independent Board of Education for Harlem.

In the spring of 1967, Innis was appointed the first resident fellow at the Metropolitan Applied Research Center (MARC), headed by Dr. Kenneth Clark. In the summer of 1967, he was elected Second National Vice-Chairman of CORE. Also in 1967, Innis became the first Executive Director of the Harlem Commonwealth Council (HCC), an investment corporation whose long-term goal was to create independence and stability in Harlem. During the same period, he was the co-editor and founder of the Manhattan Tribune Newspaper.

CORE

Innis was elected National Chairman of CORE in 1968, and has held the position ever since. Initially Innis, headed the organization in a strong campaign of Black Nationalism. However, he subsequently became prominent as a conservative activist. CORE supported the presidential candidacy of Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972.

Innis and his family have been criticized for their leadership of CORE. According to an interview given by James Farmer in 1993, "CORE has no functioning chapters; it holds no conventions, no elections, no meetings, sets no policies, has no social programs and does no fund-raising. In my opinion, CORE is fraudulent." [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0317,charles,43542,1.html] .

Black nationalism

Innis drafted the Community Self-Determination Act of 1968 and garnered bipartisan sponsorship of this bill by one-third of the U.S. Senate and over 50 congressmen. This was the first time in U.S. history that a bill drafted by a black organization was introduced into the United States Congress.

In the debate over school integration, Innis offered an alternative plan consisting of community control of educational institutions. As part of this effort, in October 1970, CORE filed an amicus curiae brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with Swann vs the Charlotte Mackleburg Board of Education.

Innis and a CORE delegation toured seven African countries in 1971. He met with several heads of state, including Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta, Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere, Liberia’s William Tolbert and Uganda's Idi Amin, who was awarded a life membership of CORE cite web |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DE1E30F930A2575AC0A965958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 |title=Mayoral Race Is Overshadowed In New York Primary Tomorrow - New York Times |accessdate=2007-12-13 |format= |work=] . In 1973 he became the first American to attend the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in an official capacity.

In 1973 Innis participated in a televised debate with Nobel-winning physicist William Shockley on the topic of black genetic inferiority.

Criminal justice

Innis has long been active in criminal justice matters, including debate over gun control and the Second Amendment. He is a current board member of the National Rifle Association. [cite news |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16324652&ft=1&f=5 |title='Ricochet' Goes Behind Scenes of Gun Lobby |date=2007-11-15 |publisher=National Public Radio |accessdate=2007-11-15] [Roy Innis re-elected to NRA Board http://www.nrawinningteam.com/bios99/innis.html]

A supporter of victims' rights, he has been involved in cases such as: the "subway gunman," Bernhard Goetz; "subway token booth clerk", James Grimes; the "candyman good Samaritan", Andy Fredericks; the "black Bernie Goetz", Austin Weeks; and the accused "remember me subway shooter" Clemente Jackson. Some of his activities include: investigating and exposing the Tawana Brawley hoax; overseeing and participating in a citizen’s anti-drug campaign, "One Street At A Time".Fact|date=May 2008

Innis has lost two of his sons to criminal gun violence. His first son, Roy Innis, Jr., at the age of 13 in 1968. His next oldest son Alexander, 26, was shot and slain in 1982. [cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E4DE133BF930A15751C0A964948260 |title=THE CITY; 2d Innis Son Slain |date=1982-02-23 |publisher=New York Times |accessdate=2007-11-02]

Controversy

He was noted for starting two televised scuffles in 1988, one on "Geraldo" against white supremacists, particularly John Metzger, and another on "The Morton Downey Jr. Show" against Reverend Al Sharpton, when Sharpton was pushed over in his chair by Innis.

Political campaigns

In 1986 Innis challenged incumbent Major Owens in the Democratic primary for the 12th Congressional District, representing Brooklyn. He was defeated by a three-to-one margin.

In the 1993 New York City Democratic Party mayoral primary, Innis challenged incumbent David Dinkins, the first African-American to hold the office. Given his conservative positions on the issues, he explained that "the Democratic Party is the only game in town. It's unfortunate that we have a corrupt one-party, one ideology system in New York City, and I'd like to change that. But being a Democrat doesn't mean you have to be a fool." During his own campaign, Innis also appeared at fundraising events for the Republican candidate Rudolph Giuliani. Innis received 25% of the vote in the four-way race with his highest totals came in white areas and his lowest in black Assembly districts. Dinkins lost to Giuliani in the general election.

In February 1994, his son Niger, who ran his primary campaign, suggested that Innis would also challenge incumbent governor Mario Cuomo in the Democratic primary.

In 1998, Innis joined the Libertarian Party and gave serious consideration to running for Governor of New York as the party's candidate that year. He ultimately decided against running, citing time restrictions related to his duties with CORE . [cite web |url=http://www.lp.org/lpn/9805-Innis.html |title=Innis passes on NY governor's run; mulls New York mayor race in 2001 |month=May |year=1998 |accessdate=2007-11-02]

Innis served as New York State Chair in Alan Keyes's 2000 presidential campaign. [cite press release |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-59364233.html |title=Roy & Niger Innis Endorse Alan Keyes for President of the United States. |date=2000-02-11]

References

External links

* [http://www.core-online.org CORE's Official Website]