Frank Leon Roberts

{{Short description|American activist, writer, political commentator and college professor}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}

{{Infobox academic

| name = Frank Leon Roberts

| image = Frank Leon Roberts.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Frank Leon Roberts, Ferguson, Missouri, October 2014.

| birth_date = August 25, 1982

| birth_place = Jamaica, Queens, New York, New York{{cn|date=March 2024}}

| education = New York University, Yale University

| occupation = Professor, writer, commentator and activist

| workplaces = New York University, Amherst College}}

Frank Leon Roberts (born August 25, 1982){{cn|date=March 2024}} is an American activist, writer,[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/frank-leon-roberts Frank Roberts] Huffington Post political commentator, and college professor{{cite web|url=https://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/froberts.html|title=Faculty Biography Page, Amherst College}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/ferguson-in-the-classroom-how-one-college-took-up-race-and-policing-this-semester/94c27a71-aefb-4bd9-99bb-d356b3804bf3|title=Ferguson in the classroom: How one college took up race and policing this semester|last=Whack|first=Errin|date=9 November 2015|access-date=23 September 2016|via=WBEZ}} at Amherst College, known for his involvement in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/nyregion/questioning-of-garner-protesters-in-new-york-renews-concerns-about-police-practices.html?_r=0|title=Questioning of Garner Protesters in New York Renews Concerns About Police Practices.|last=Moynihan|first=Colin|date=April 28, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=30 August 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/broadway-black-lives-matter-concert-rallies-artists-actors-n621356|title="Broadway for Black Lives Matter' Concert Rallies Artists, Actors"|last=BRAGG|first=KO|date=2 August 2016|access-date=30 August 2016|via=Nbcnews.com}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/Thrust-Into-a-National-Debate/234131/|title=Thrust Into a National Debate on Race, 2 Missouri Chiefs Resign|last=Stripling|first=Jack|date=10 November 2015|via=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.uptownmagazine.com/2014/11/furor-in-ferguson/|title=Ferguson on Fire|last=Roberts|first=Frank Leon Roberts|date=24 August 2014|website=Uptown Magazine|access-date=30 August 2016}} Roberts is a former faculty member at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where his course "Black Lives Matter: Race, Resistance, and Populist Protest"{{cite web|url=http://www.blacklivesmattersyllabus.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911002049/http://www.blacklivesmattersyllabus.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=September 11, 2015|title=BlackLivesMatter Syllabus|website=BlackLivesMatterSyllabus|publisher=New York University|access-date=30 August 2016}} received national attention for being one of the first such courses offered on a university campus.{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/11/09/454055691/ferguson-in-the-classroom-how-one-college-took-up-race-and-policing-this-semeste|title=Ferguson In The Classroom: How One College Took Up Race And Policing This Semester|last1=Whack|first1=Erinn}} He has been a frequent media commentator on issues related to the intersections of race and gender in American public life.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/frank-ocean-matters|title=Why Frank Ocean Matters|last=Leon Roberts|first=Frank|date=26 August 2016|website=Ebony.com|publisher=Ebony Magazine|access-date=2 September 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://gawker.com/false-hope-empty-policy-obamas-amazing-grace-moment-1714764540|title=False Hope, Empty Policy: Obama's "Amazing Grace" Moment Falls Flat|last=Leon Roberts|first=Frank|date=30 June 2015|website=Gawker|access-date=4 September 2016}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-leon-roberts/jordan-davis-shooting_b_4797206.html?|title=What We Wanted to Believe: An Open Letter to America (For Jordan Davis)|last=Roberts|first=Frank Leon|date=17 February 2014|website=The Huffington Post|access-date=4 September 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ERPOddqZw|title=5 Ways of Understanding Black Lives Matter|last=Roberts|first=Frank Leon|website=Youtube Clip of "Broadway 4 Black Lives Matter" Event held at Columbia Law School, August 1, 2016.|date=August 2, 2016 |access-date=2 September 2016}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.vibe.com/2014/10/blues-ballad-ferguson-where-do-we-go-here/|title=A Blues Ballad for Ferguson: Where Do We Go From Here?|last=Roberts|first=Frank Leon|date=17 October 2014|access-date=2 September 2016|via=Vibe.com}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/how-black-lives-matter-changed-way-americans-fight|title=How Black Lives Matter Changed the Way Americans Fight for Freedom|website=American Civil Liberties Union|date=13 July 2018 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-24}}

A community organizer and public speaker, Roberts's varied perspectives on #BlackLivesMatter's influence on public debates about race and racial inequity have been cited by The New York Times, BBC Radio, NBC, CBC, Univision, The Chronicle of Higher Education and a variety of national outlets.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/03/arts/design/at-new-museum-a-pop-up-support-system-for-black-lives-matter.html|title=At New Museum, A Pop Up Support System for Black Lives Matter|last=Best|first=Tamara|date=2 August 2016|access-date=2 August 2016|via=New York Times}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/broadway-black-lives-matter-concert-rallies-artists-actors-n621356|title="Broadway for Black Lives Matter' Concert Rallies Artists, Actors"|date=2 August 2016|access-date=4 September 2016|via=NBCnews.com}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.univision.com/nueva-york/wxtv/black-lives-matter-un-movimiento-en-desahogo-al-culminar-una-semana-dura|title="Black Lives Matter: un movimiento en desahogo al culminar una "semana dura" Univison|date=8 July 2016|access-date=2 September 2016|via=Univision.com}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.chronicle.com/article/Thrust-Into-a-National-Debate/234131/|title=Thrust Into a National Debate on Race, 2 Missouri Chiefs Resign|date=10 November 2015|access-date=2 September 2016|via=The Chronicle of Higher Education}}

Roberts is also the founder and executive director of For Freedom's Sake, a New York City based grassroots social justice organization that mobilizes black and brown communities through teach-ins and public dialogues.{{Cite web|url=http://forfreedomsake.org/about-us/|title=For Freedom's Sake Website.|website=For Freedom's Sake|access-date=2 September 2016}}

Roberts is a 2019 Roddenberry Foundation Fellow,{{Cite web|url=https://roddenberryfoundation.org/blog/fellow/frank-leon-roberts/|title=Frank Leon Roberts|website=Roddenberry Foundation|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-24}} and a Ford Foundation Fellow.{{cite news |author1=Gallatin School Of Individualized Study|title=Black Lives Matter: Race, Resistance, and Popular Protest |url=https://gallatin.nyu.edu/content/dam/gallatin/documents/publications/Gallatin%20Today%20Spring%2021.pdf |work=Gallatin Today |publisher=New York University |date=Spring 2021 |page=11}}