Dwight T. Wilson (j. 11/1964; d. 2018) and his wife, Norma, had two daughters, Jennifer and Michele, who grew up in the church’s religious education program. Wilson was a past Board vice president (1984) and also served on the Budget and Personnel Committees. Underlying all of his activities at the church was his special interest in financial integrity and good-decision-making.
After a stint with the Rhode Island Urban League, Wilson left to work with President Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty initiative in DC. which led him to take a job several years later at the National Urban League under the leadership of the renowned Whitney Young.
Over his 40-year career in the Africa Bureau of the USAID at the State Department, Wilson was responsible for programs in East, Southern, and Central-West African countries. His travels took him to 33 countries, including African and European countries, during the course of his career. One of his proudest accomplishments was his successful effort to ensure that the State Department library was officially named the Ralph J. Bunche Library. This came to fruition in 1997.
Wilson received a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Taylor University in 1957, a master’s in social work from Howard University in 1959, and a master’s in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University in 1980.
He died at 85 from complications of Parkinson’s disease and myasthenia gravis.