Civic Rights/Justice Activist, Former NAACP Executive Wilfredo ‘Wil’ Rojas, Dies at 73
Photo courtesy of Wilfredo Rojas
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
MICKLETON – Longtime justice/civil rights activist and columnist Wilfredo “Wil” Rojas died on April 5 at his home at 73 and will be remembered during funeral services in Philadelphia on April 10.
The former first vice president and communications chair of the Gloucester County NAACP, Rojas was a strong voice for justice and civil rights through his work in Philadelphia and South Jersey. His family and the National Homicide Justice Alliance, an organization he co-founded after the shooting death of his son, made the announcement about his death this week.
Rojas dedicated his life to positively impacting his community and worked tirelessly to serve others. His legacy of more than 55 years of leadership and life-long efforts for civil rights in various fields inspired not only his generation but a new generation of activists.
He won numerous awards for his groundbreaking civil rights work, including the 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice Jefferson Award. The award, done in partnership with the New Jersey MLK Jr. Commemorative Commission, recognizes those who continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through their work to promote Dr. King’s message of civil rights, justice for all, peace and non-violence in communities and the state.
“Oh man, that was a really big deal,” Rojas told FRNJ in 2018 of the moment he received the award from then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. “My wife nominated me. I was thinking, ‘Wait. I’m the one that nominates people.'”
Rojas was born in the small rural town of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. He is the retired co-founder and first director of the Philadelphia Prison System’s executive-level Office of Community Justice and Outreach and a member of the East Greenwich Township Joint Planning/Zoning Board.
Co-founder of a host of influential organizations focused on issues of equality and justice, which includes being the longest-serving president of the Philadelphia National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights and co-founder of the Young Lords. Rojas was a fourth-degree knight with the Knights of Columbus.
“He has a sense of humor that will keep a smile on your face even under stressful conditions,” Gloucester County NAACP President Loretta Winters said of Rojas in 2018. “I have to say he is the most energetic, creative, selfless person I know in the fight for civil rights.”
Following his retirement from the Philadelphia Prison System in 2012, he jumped into action again for justice. He and Aleida García’s 34-year-old son, Alejandro Rojas García, was murdered on January 24, 2015. The man who shot him was eventually sentenced to life in prison. Rojas joined Aleida García in co-founding the non-profit National Homicide Justice Alliance.
“Wilfredo had a real heart for helping people,” Garcia told Front Runner New Jersey. “We knew if we were hurting other families may be going through the same things we were and we decided to start the organization. We realized there was strength in numbers.
“Wilfredo was loved by a lot of people and he will be missed. He really wanted to help other people.”
In his spare time, Rojas was an avid Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles fan. He regularly hosted Super Bowl parties at his house. He enjoyed spending summers in Wildwood, and he would look forward to the family’s annual trips.
Rojas was also an avid writer and had penned numerous columns for Front Runner New Jersey.com and the South Jersey Journal, among other publications. There, he advocated for civil rights and called for the unifying of Black and Latino voices in that struggle.
In a June 7, 2020, column Rojas wrote for FRNJ on the death of George Floyd and people rallying against police misconduct, he said:
“Don’t be worried about failure, it comes with territory and is just as important as the successes of your actions. When you participate in social justice issues, discouragement will happen often but get right back in a positive mood in a hurry, just as quickly as you can. We need all hands on deck to take back America.”
A loving family man, he is survived by his wife of 29 years, Carmen Marrero, a bilingual school psychologist; his four living children, Enid, Becky, Neumann, and Veronica Santina; and his stepson, Nelson Rosa Cintron, as well as his nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his son, Alejandro Rojas Garcia, his grandson, Eddie Nelson Mendez, Jr, and an infant daughter, Rachel Gianna.
“Everything he did for the community was motivated by his desire for social justice and service to others.” Marrero, a board member of the National Homicide Justice Alliance, said on her husband’s behalf.
Viewing and a funeral mass will be held at St. Peter the Apostle Church, 1019 North Fifth Street, in Philadelphia, from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, April 10. Burial will take place at Eglington Cemetery, 320 Kings Highway in Clarksboro, in East Greenwich Township.
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