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Biography of Doris Watkins, winner of the 2006
Linowes Leadership Award
Born in 1948 the first daughter of a family of ten children with no father in the house, Doris Watkins was responsible for taking care of her siblings, cooking and keeping up the house by the time she was ten years old. She began her fight against racism as a child, living nine miles from the nearest town—Chase, Virginia. About the same time the four college students made headlines around the world by sitting at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, Doris was waging her own Civil Rights struggle by refusing to go to the back of O’Bryant’s drugstore to be served. She insisted she be served her lunch in a booth in the front of the restaurant just like the white customers and refused to budge when Mr. O’Bryant directed her to leave. She vowed she would not move, and she didn’t as a crowd of African Americans gathered. Eventually, word spread to her mother’s employer, Mr. Spencer, and he came to the drugstore to see what the fuss was about. She explained to him that she was hungry, she wanted to eat and she was not being served. Mr. Spencer, an important figure in the community, instructed Mr. O’Bryant to take her order. While the African American onlookers showed disdain for her action and reprimanded her for being so bold, Doris felt an inner peace and confidence that she had stood up for what was fair.
Even though this incident did not happen in the DC area, I tell it for this nomination because it was at this moment Doris Watkins knew that one person could make change; one person could stand up for what she believes…even if that one person were a child. And that is what it means to have power. That is the life lesson that Doris Watkins carries with her every single day. That is the life lesson she passes on to every parent, child and community member she meets.
Watkins fights for justice and equity for African American and immigrant families with as much passion and courage today as she did over 40 years ago. Having lived and worked in Ward 7 for the past twenty years, Watkins feels particularly responsible for improving conditions for the public assistance and low-income residents of these neighborhoods. Her approach is to create coalitions of community residents to address the issues that most impact the well-being of the community—from drugs to housing, law enforcement, business-community relations and education. Doris has served the community in numerous capacities: as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC), Community Liaison for City Services, Community Organizer for the Marshal Heights Community Development Organization, PTA president, Parent Center Coordinator and Community Liaison for the Metropolitan Police Community Service Program. She organized one of the first Orange Hat Patrols in the metropolitan area.
In her current role as Tellin’ Stories Citywide Senior Coordinator at Teaching for Change, Watkins works to build multi-racial parent power in schools by developing meaningful relationships between parents and taking collective action to transform schools. Watkins empowers parents to create and implement action plans that affect the academic achievement and environment of neighborhood schools through weekly meetings, workshops, trainings, and grassroots organizing.
Watkins has brought an extraordinary vision to Tellin’ Stories over the past several years. For example while facilitating a workshop session at Davis Elementary School, parents identified low expectations for children around literacy as one of their chief concerns. From this session the “Roving Readers” program was born, where parents encourage and develop the love of reading. Watkins envisioned a program where parents read not only in their children’s classroom, but in schools and community centers across the District. Her vision has since become a reality; the Roving Readers have visited over 75 classrooms and reached approximately 1,500 students.
Excerpt from nomination written by Jill Weiler.
Find out more about Tellin' Stories.
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