Randall Robinson
Distinguished Scholar in Residence

Education:
J.D., Harvard Law School
B.A., Virginia Union University

Professor Randall Robinson is an internationally acclaimed author whose books and scholarly interests focus on U.S. foreign policy towards the Caribbean and Africa; the use of foreign policy to achieve social goals; and racial equity. Professor Robinson founded TransAfrica, which seeks to influence U.S. foreign policy towards Africa and the Caribbean, and established the Free South Africa Movement, which pushed successfully for the imposition of U.S. sanctions against South Africa and was instrumental in ending apartheid. His public advocacy on behalf of the people of Haiti spurred a multinational operation that restored Haiti’s first democratically elected government to power. Professor Robinson is the recipient of numerous humanitarian awards from organizations that include the Congressional Black Caucus, UNICEF, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and The King Center. Henry Louis Gates calls Professor Robinson “one of the world's foremost advocates for freedom and justice”; Cornell West calls him “a towering freedom fighter in the world of ideas and actions.”

Professor Robinson is the creator and host of "World on Trial," an interactive human-rights program produced by WPSU, the Penn State School of International Affairs, and Penn State Law. 

Contact Information:
E-mail: rmr25@psu.edu
Phone: (814) 867-2792
Principal Office: University Park

Selected Publications:
An Unbroken Agony: Haiti, from Revolution to Kidnapping of a President (2007).

Quitting America: The Departure of a Black Man from His Native Land (2004).

The Reckoning: What Blacks Owe to Each Other (2002).

The Debt: What America Owes to Blacks (2001).

Defending the Spirit: A Black Life in America (1998).