In 2026, the Woodson Center stands at an extraordinary convergence of milestones. The organization marks its 45th anniversary — marking four-plus decades of empowering community-based leaders to reduce crime, restore families, and revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Simultaneously, the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence from imperial rule. For the @WoodsonCenter, this is not a coincidence — it is a calling. The organization was founded on the belief that the promise of liberty belongs to every American, and that the unfinished work of that founding is carried forward not by government programs but by indigenous community leaders on the ground. This anniversary highlights the hope and transformation that has occurred throughout the history of both the Woodson Center and the country through a commitment to the founding values of self-determination and collective resilience. Read our entire 45th anniversary statement and how we will carry forward @BobWoodson's legacy of resilience and spirit of renewal in every neighborhood across the nation: woodsoncenter.org/8643-2/

"I believe Covert, Michigan stands for a reality that we are not - as some might say- as a nation, inherently racist. Because you saw when the community faced the difficulty and adversity of the frontier, they bound together to meet that oppression. So the racism we see is a choice and decision people are making. it is not inherent." - Will Crossley Watch our latest animated story about the town of Covert, Michigan that independently integrated in the 1850s -before the #EmancipationProclamation was signed and slavery was abolished: youtu.be/HCOywYshAyQ?si=T-Yy… #desegregation

Woodson Center president Will Crossley's op-ed, "Nikole Hannah-Jones has the wrong cure for failing black schools" is now available in the @dcexaminer. washingtonexaminer.com/in_fo… As someone who not only attended an all-black institution as a youth, The Piney Woods School, and later became its president, Will argues that there is a better cure for failing black schools than the one Ms. Hannah-Jones proposed in her The New York Times piece. It's the right values, not money or a particular classroom racial composition, that set our kids up for success.

Excited to be in Chicago representing @Heritage at the @illinoispolicy’s Center for Poverty Solutions conference. Dr. Eddie Kornegay (the center’s ED) and Will Crossley, president of @WoodsonCenter, are talking about agency, dignity, and community empowerment.

"No matter what sphere of American society you are talking about, there are Black Americans who have excelled there." - Stephanie Taylor, Woodson Center curriculum team Black history is for all--year-round. Stories of resilience, courage, integrity, and agency. Free lessons, available for all. woodsoncenter.org/how-we-hel…

Thank you to everyone who participated in our presentation on “Resistance and Resilience: Connecting Black History to the Global Human Struggle” at the Georgia Council for the Social Studies (GCSS) 2026! Curriculum members Stephanie Taylor and Tina Webb did a wonderful job representing us in Georgia and we can't wait to return next year.

Read president Will Crossley's op-ed in the Washington Examiner where he proposes that Black private schools, characterized by "a culture of hard work and high standards" and "a nurturing community, shaped by discipline", demonstrate that "Nikole Hannah-Jones has the wrong cure for failing black schools". washingtonexaminer.com/in_fo…

"Our work is more important now than ever before." - Bob Woodson In Bob's address to the @WoodsonCenter Community Affiliate Network affiliates, he shares an urgent message for all: partisan politics & political ideologies will not solve the issues surrounding our troubled neighborhoods. True neighborhood restoration -which ultimately leads to national renewal- will come from the determined "warriors" who live amongst the suffering and have the moral clarity to provide innovative solutions.

An empowered child is given a whole story to learn from - victories achieved through adversity, barriers overcome with grit and determination, agency built from integrity and resilience. Equipped with our free K-12 Black History and Excellence lessons, watch the youth take charge of their futures as they grow in competence, agency, and resilience. Empower a child today: woodsoncenter.org/how-we-hel…

Keep showing up even when your efforts go unnoticed. The quiet choices matter so let character be the measure of your progress. Keep going.

"Having students learn more about Black history and 'untold' stories that may never be shared within a given set of standards can be such a powerful and critical part of the social studies curriculum." - #Fairfax County Schools curriculum head Another week, another social studies conference! This time we attended VCSS at the College of William and Mary, where our curriculum team member Tina Webb exhibited as well as presented while there. Educators in attendance loved the presentation, and one, a curriculum head for Fairfax County schools, (one of the largest school districts in the country) strongly recommends all social studies teachers use our materials. What a wonderful endorsement! #VCSS2026 Civil Liberties and Civil Rights Teaching Award recipient Owen Longacre (pictured) also shared that he uses our curriculum resources and has our curriculum poster in his office!

Character is not formed only in life’s defining moments. It is revealed in the quiet choices, keeping our word, completing the overlooked task, extending kindness, and doing what is right when no one is watching. As you begin this week, remember: small acts of discipline and integrity prepare us for greater responsibilities. Excellence begins in the ordinary.

We're thrilled that two members of our curriculum team - Stephanie Taylor and Tina Webb - will be sharing about K-12 Black History and Excellence curriculum in Chicago next month! We are grateful to @CUChicago for the invitation and recognizing the need for these stories to be told.

On September 30, the American Enterprise Institute hosted Radical Grace: A Tribute to the Life and Work of Bob Woodson, an afternoon celebrating our founder’s conviction that lasting change begins with the strength and initiative of ordinary people. The program opened with a panel on our Black History and Excellence curriculum, featuring our team historian Stephanie Taylor. Former California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown and political scientist Wilfred Reilly also took part, and the afternoon closed with a fireside chat between President Will Crossley and Board Chairman Gregory L. Snyder on carrying Bob’s vision forward. We are grateful to all who attended in-person and virtually, and special thanks to @AEI and @IanVRowe for such a wonderful tribute to @BobWoodson.

"This month, we were able to feed the entire Homicide and Crime Scene Unit through the Police and Pastor's Program. The detectives were very moved, almost to tears from the generosity." - Yvonne Pointer, VBMU Ohio Regional Lead VMBU lead Yvonne Pointer has thoughtfully brought together spiritual leaders and law enforcement officers of all backgrounds to share and encourage one another in how to better serve their communities. This collaboration has proved fruitful, and just highlights one more way that our neighborhood healers like Yvonne have integral insights that are needed in community restoration.

In Bob's lifetime, he saw numerous ways to fail a community. These failings are what motivated him to start the @WoodsonCenter. He dedicated his life to amplifying the community healers that recognized the brokenness in their communities, and sought to empower, uplift, and transform their neighborhoods from the inside out. This is America's ground game.

Words needed now more than ever. We miss you Bob Woodson.🕊️

@WoodsonCenter’s Julia Nelson probes the similarities—and more important, the differences—between Woodson and Olasky in their approaches to poverty and the capacity of the poor to address their own problems. thegivingreview.com/tragedy-…!

Where can you exercise Radical Grace in Action? Learn more about the Golden 13, the first black officers commissioned by the @USNavy, and Robert Smalls, who commandeered a Confederate gunship as he led his family to freedom, in the @WoodsonCenter's Black History and Excellence curriculum. woodsoncenter.org/how-we-hel… #radicalgraceinaction Via a 2020 interview with Hillsdale College.

A room in his honor💙 With our president Will Crossley and @BobWoodson's wife Ellen in attendance, our wonderful CAN affiliate, The Master's Apprentice [Denver, CO], dedicated a space to our late founder: the Robert Woodson Community Room. Not only a profoundly kind gesture, but also a testament to the enduring legacy Mr. Woodson has left all of us. The Master's Apprentice offers pre-apprenticeship programs in the trades, created to help motivated individuals from low-income backgrounds. Learn more: themastersapprentice.org/