The Election of Barack Obama
Roger Wilkins
The First African American President
By: Prime Time Radio | Source: AARP Radio | January 13, 2009
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"During the Johnson administration, Roger Wilkins served as assistant attorney general. In a distinguished journalism career, he has written for both The New York Times and The Washington Post, and he was associate editor of The Washington Star. While on the editorial page staff of The Washington Post, he shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for Watergate coverage with Woodward, Bernstein and Herblock."
The pictures were ubiquitous - older African Americans caught up in the Obama victories at various stages of the campaign - some in tears - with a clear personal stake in the accomplishments of this young politician.
We wanted to go behind the pictures - so we invited two African American leaders to our studios to talk about Barack Obama's road to the White House.
Roger Wilkins, 76, is Clarence J. Robinson Professor of History and American Culture at George Mason University in Northern Virginia.
His daughter Elizabeth, 25, was field director in Michigan for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
We asked the two of them what Barack Obama's victory meant to them. Read "Roger Wilkins on Hope and Obama" at AARP The Magazine.
This page has a complete video of Mike Cuthbert's interview with Roger and Elizabeth Wilkins. Here you can see a short excerpt about election night.
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