Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

Roger W. Wilkins

Over a notable career exceeding 50 years, Roger Wilkins has been an eloquent spokesman and advocate for equal justice in our nation. From his earliest work with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc., following graduation from the University of Michigan Law School in 1956, Mr. Wilkins’ career reflects a succession of assignments providing him with a unique opportunity to help in shaping our country’s quest for racial justice and equal opportunity. These posts have included service as Assistant Attorney General under President Lyndon Johnson, membership on the Editorial Board of The Washington Post, where he shared a Pulitzer Prize for work on the Watergate scandal, work as columnist and editorial writer for The New York Times, and most recently an appointment as the Robinson Professor of History at George Mason University.

Mr. Wilkins is the author of several noted works, including A Man’s Life (1982), Quiet Riots (with Fred Harris, 1988), and Jefferson’s Pillow (2001). He is the publisher of the NAACP’s journal Crisis and is also a frequent commentator and analyst on public policy issues on public radio and television. He has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Africa-America Institute and is a member of the Board of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc.

During his tenure as an appointed member of the D.C. Board of Education, the staff of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee was privileged to work with Mr. Wilkins on a range of public education reform issues, experiencing at first hand the strength and depth of his commitment to assuring high-quality public education in our Nation’s capital. His wise counsel has been invaluable to the Committee as it has worked to improve our schools.

As someone who knew Wiley Branton well and worked with him closely for many years, Roger Wilkins shares an intimate connection to the man for whom the Committee has named its highest award. We are thus especially proud to make this presentation to him at this year’s Branton Luncheon.

Marc L. Fleischaker

As the leader of a major Washington law firm and a steadfast champion of civil rights and pro bono service, Marc Fleischaker’s career reflects many of the qualities demonstrated so clearly in the life and work of Wiley Branton. Following his graduation from the University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University Law School, Marc joined the firm of Arent Fox in 1971, where he has served as Chair since 1997. Throughout his career, he has combined an active commercial practice with a truly notable commitment to public interest causes and strong advocacy of his firm’s pro bono programs.

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee has been the fortunate beneficiary of Marc’s exceptional leadership and advocacy skills for nearly 30 years. As a founding Board Member, longtime Trustee and two-time Co-Chair, he has played a vital role in guiding the Committee as it developed new programs in the field of disability rights and expanded its work in the areas of public education reform and immigrant rights. His leadership at Arent Fox has contributed greatly to the overall strength of the firm’s pro bono program in general and its strong support for virtually every Committee project over the years.

To a degree singular among Committee supporters, Marc has combined distinguished Board leadership with active service as a Committee co-counsel on some of its most challenging and notable cases. Among these have been class action race discrimination lawsuits involving the U.S. General Accounting Office and the Library of Congress, and a pattern and practice case challenging redlining practices in the homeowners’ insurance industry. Today, he serves as lead counsel with the Committee in a case brought on behalf of thousands of women farmers challenging denials of equal access to U.S. Department of Agriculture loans and other services.

Marc’s wide-ranging community work has encompassed service as chair of the Appleseed Foundation and the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. In all of these assignments, he has displayed the steady leadership, combining self-deprecating humor and a passionate commitment to equal justice we associate with Wiley Branton. The Committee is delighted to present Marc with the Branton Award this year.