Robin is a passionate advocate for civil rights and social justice, dedicating his legal career to empowering underserved communities. For over 25 years, his Long Beach-based firm, The Law Offices of Robin D. Perry & Associates, has handled numerous high-profile civil and criminal matters, establishing him as a leading attorney in Southern California. His meaningful contributions have earned him the Long Beach Bar Association's 2024 Lawyer of the Year award.

His commitment to justice is deeply inspired by his family’s historic Louisiana roots and his academic background, having earned a BA in Sociology of Law & Society with a minor in African American Studies from UC Davis, followed by a JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Beyond his legal practice, Robin actively engages in community outreach. He frequently lectures at seminars, including his firm's Summer Seminar Series, and regularly speaks to low-income students in the Long Beach Unified School District, and mentoring underprivileged youth.

Robin frequently serves as the subject matter expert on numerous civil rights tours across the Southern U.S. and Western Africa. He was recently the opening speaker at the 2025 Educational Travel Conference.

Robin's commitment to building stronger communities extends to his extensive non-profit work. He is a past President of the Long Beach Bar Association. He serves on the boards of 100 Black Men of Long Beach, St. Mary Medical Center Foundation, the Long Beach Bar Association, Children Today, and Leadership Long Beach. He founded the Moot Court Project, a summer program providing writing and advocacy skills to underprivileged youth. Furthermore, he partners with the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office and the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office to expunge hundreds of criminal convictions through the RISE Program, offering second chances to local residents.

Justin's career, spanning over 30 years, demonstrates a deep commitment to community and justice. After earning a degree in Political Science from The George Washington University, he began working for U.S. Rep. Patsy T. Mink. She was the first woman of color elected to Congress, and author of Title IX. A trailblazer in women's rights and a champion of equality, her mentorship and friendship fostered Justin’s lifelong dedication to equality. Justin went on to spend several yeas in leadership roles on various civil rights campaigns and as a legislative assistant to the Governor of Washington State.

Justin was then selected as the Director of Public Affairs at The Center for National Policy, (CNP) a D.C.-based think tank, chaired by Leon Panetta (former U.S. Sec. of Defense, Dir. of the CIA, and White House Chief of Staff). Supporting key initiatives of the Clinton Administration and Congressional leadership, Justin and the CNP worked to address systemic inequalities in areas such as economics, health, and the workplace.

Later, moving into the corporate world in a leadership role at Toyota North America, Justin leveraged his passion for social justice to drive innovative multi-million-dollar charitable initiatives with institutions like Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Girl Scouts USA, Trevor Project (youth suicide prevention) and scholarships for students attending HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities).

Justin has explored over 50 countries across all seven continents, including leading travel groups in the U.S., Mexico, and North Africa. As co-founder of Adventure Scholars, Justin combines his passion for travel planning and his expertise in social justice and philanthropy to help create unique educational travel programs for students from across the U.S. and around the globe.

Sylvester and Mary are lifelong residents of Greenwood, Mississippi, and are deeply connected to the Delta region's history, culture, and soul. Both Sylvester and Mary were born on local plantations into sharecropping families. As such, they experienced the civil rights era firsthand.

Today, they are the owners of Hoover's Grocery and the Back in the Day Museum located in Greenwood’s historically Black neighborhood known as Baptist Town. Sylvester also owns the Delta Blues Legends and Civil Rights Tours which explores all aspects of the region. For 30 years, Mary had a popular local restaurant and has established an international reputation for her cooking – even preparing the food for the movie The Help. Baptist Town was once a haven for bluesmen and legendary artists. Sylvester’s father, who made moonshine and played the blues, instilled in him a love for the blues and connected him to legendary artists like Robert Johnson and Honey Boy Edwards. Sylvester emphasizes the inherent connectedness of the blues and civil rights, viewing the blues as a bridge that connects people from all walks of life through shared struggles.

Sylvester’s love for the Delta and connection to the area runs deep. He is the youngest of nine siblings, but the only one to remain in the Mississippi Delta. As Sylvester reveals the richness of the region’s culture and history, he delves not only into its troubled past, but also its incredible contributions to art, music, and modern politics.

Sylvester is a deacon, and Mary is the choir president at the nearby Little Zion Baptist Church, built by sharecroppers on the Whittington Plantation in 1870.

For generations of parishioners within the Black community, church has been a spiritual anchor and community hub; it's the heart of daily life, offering education, fellowship, and a vital space for self-expression. It was a safe haven for generations of sharecroppers, and a bedrock for their descendants. As Sylvester and Mary share, it also became a center for healing the racial divide and building pride and joy among the entire Greenwood community.

Robby is a tenured Professor of History and Director of the Margaret Walker Center and COFO Center at Jackson State University.

“I was raised by parents who were very intentional about making sure I had a different sensibility about the place we are from, the people we were around,” says Robby, in an interview with VisitJackson.com. With parents who were active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s in Jackson, Mississippi, Robby’s childhood was shaped by a consciousness and experience shared by few other white children of his time.

Following a passion for history and social justice, Robby received his BA in Political Science from Yale University and his PhD in History from the University of Georgia with a focus on the history of the modern civil rights movement. After completing his PhD in 2009, he returned home to Jackson.

As a renowned author, his books include a collection of essays, Redefining Liberal Arts Education in the 21st Century (2021), and a monograph, Joe T. Patterson and the White South’s Dilemma: Evolving Resistance to Black Advancement (2015). Along with several publications and presentations at numerous academic conferences, he has appeared in documentaries, including the Independent Lens film Spies of Mississippi as well as An Ordinary Hero about the life of Joan Trumpauer Mulhollhand.

Robby is an Advisory Board member for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City, the Mississippi Book Festival, and the South Central Region of the Anti-Defamation League. Robby also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of African American Museums, Common Cause Mississippi, and the Girls Scouts of Greater Mississippi. And in 2017, Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba appointed Robby to the Board of Trustees of Jackson Public Schools. For his work in racial equity, he was named a Kellogg Foundation Fellow.