Leonard Alkins, a longtime face of the NAACP Boston Branch with a four-decade career in the Legislature, died of cancer Sunday, a former NAACP Boston Branch president confirmed to the News Service.
For former Boston NAACP President Michael Curry, Alkins was a mentor and good friend who had no issue engaging with a person whether they were the Massachusetts speaker of the House, Senate president, or governor.
"He understood that leadership isn't always just about conflict, it's also about relationships. And he masterfully used both tools well," Curry said. "One particular thing marked his leadership. He let you fall down. He let you make mistakes. But he always picked you up. He had this leadership style that said, 'Hey, I want you to learn how to do this stuff. I want you to figure it out as you go, and I always got your back.'"
Alkins began working for the state Senate in 1962, according to a biography written when he was honored with the Boston Branch's Distinguished Service Award in 2008.
The Brockton resident went on to serve as an aide to the Senate majority leader (1965-1970), legislative assistant and administrative assistant to Senate President Kevin Harrington (1971-1978), and clerk of the Committees on Rules of the two branches until 2002. Alkins was elected president of the NAACP Boston Branch in 1995.
One hallmark of his tenure was the Knock Across Boston campaign led by the Boston Branch in 2000, according to the biography -- a "persuasive, door-to-door voter education and registration campaign" which "contributed to record voter participation in communities of color."
He also served on the NAACP's National Resolutions Committee, the Sovereign Bank Community Advisory Group, and as chairman of the NAACP New England Area Conference's Labor and Industry Committee.
An obituary for Alkins featuring a poem by Johnny Ray Ryder Jr. was posted to the website for the Floyd A. Williams Funeral Home in Dorchester.
Presidents of local NAACP branches serve in the role on a volunteer basis, often while they hold another job and tend to their families. It's life or death work, Curry said, and the position can demand a lot from a person.
Having served as president of the Boston branch for six years, Curry said he knows what it takes to hold the title. And Alkins, he said, was a master of his craft -- all the while raising his two kids with his wife Carole Alkins.
"The average lifespan of an NAACP president is probably three to four years because most people don't have the capacity to give so much of their time and energy to this work because it's draining, right. It's very serious life or death work," Curry said. "[Alkins] did this for over a decade, which is just phenomenal when you think about anybody leading an organization for over a decade as a volunteer with no pay."
NAACP Boston Branch President Tanisha Sullivan said Alkins will be remembered for the work he did to advance civil rights throughout Greater Boston and his lifetime of fighting to protect democracy.
"His was a labor of unwavering love, reflective hope and selfless service," Sullivan said in a statement to the News Service. "His commitment to mentoring and encouraging the next generation of civil rights leaders is unmatched, and as a result his hope, love and fight live on in and through each of us."
