Opinion: Two distinguished Black leaders who made RI a better place
Patrick T. Conley is Rhode Island's historian laureate.
Kenneth R. Walker Sr. (1930-2019) was born and raised in East Providence, graduated from East Providence High School in 1949, and then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
In 1957, Walker received a bachelor's degree from Providence College and began teaching English and social studies at East Providence High School while also serving as a guidance counselor. He earned a master of education degree in 1962 from Rhode Island College, where he later was a part-time employee as the assistant director of Project Upward Bound, a program for disadvantaged youth.
In 1970, Walker accepted a position as an assistant professor at Rhode Island College and achieved the rank of full professor in 1989. During this time, Walker earned a PhD in education from Boston University.
Walker directed the Teacher Corps at RIC, a project aimed at improving the quality of education for low-income students. He also was director of urban education at Providence College, where he served on the President’s Council for many years. In 2008, a scholarship was established at PC in Walker’s name by banker and friend John Murphy to benefit minority students.
In 1963, the athletic Walker became a basketball referee and officiated at NCAA Division 1 games. He also helped to coach several Providence College basketball teams and worked closely with the players as a mentor.
Walker was appointed to the Rhode Island Parole Board in 1980, becoming its chairman in 2008. He retired from the board in 2014 and was its longest serving member. He was admired for his thoughtful and compassionate decisions and his willingness to give second chances to those who sought to change their lives.
Walker received many prestigious awards for his work in the parole field and for his many contributions to education at all levels.
He died on Jan. 30, 2019, at the age of 88 and was survived by Gail, his wife of 63 years, and three children.
Walter R. Stone was born in Chicago on July 12, 1944, to nurse Lavinia Stone, who died two days after his birth. Later he moved with his family to Kentucky. As a young man he attended Tennessee State University and earned a bachelor's degree from Fisk University in Nashville before entering the Marines during the Vietnam War. He became a combat veteran, serving from 1967 to 1969, and earned the Purple Heart.
After military service, Stone earned a juris doctor degree from Cleveland’s Case Western University in 1972 and then came to Providence to work at Rhode Island Legal Services. That assignment set the stage for a 50-year trailblazing career as a legal advocate for minorities and the underprivileged. Stone moved quickly onward and upward, serving as an assistant attorney general and a trial attorney for the Office of the Public Defender. Then he founded the Providence firm of Stone, Clifton and Clifton, joining two other Black attorneys on the rise.
Stone successfully defended clients in high-profile cases of national importance, participated in precedent-setting litigation, and distinguished himself by extensive public service.
From 1997 until his judicial appointment in December 2010, Stone was chairman of the board of Rhode Island Legal Services, where he began his career as staff attorney in 1972. In addition, he served on the Roger Williams University Board of Trustees.
Judge Stone served numerous philanthropic, educational, health, legal and cultural organizations. He was former chairman of the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society, chairman of the prestigious Rhode Island Foundation, and vice chairman of the Heritage Harbor Museum Board.
Roger Williams Law School and Rhode Island College conferred on him the honorary degree of doctor of law. Judge Stone received numerous awards and citations during his eventful career, including the Rhode Island Bar Association’s 2005 Pro Bono Publico Award.
Judge Stone died on Sept. 22, 2017, at the age of 73 and is survived by son Hunter Stone-Gardner of New York.
Both Walker and Stone were inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in October 2022.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 2 inspirational Black leaders who left their mark on RI | Opinion Columnist
