Amos LeRoy 'Roy' Willis

Amos Leroy “Roy” Willis


Brother. Father. Husband. Scholar. Activist. Community Builder. Servant Leader. Trailblazer.

Born in Tillery, North Carolina, Amos Leroy “Roy” Willis was the beloved son of Rev. Percy Willis and educator Mildred Taylor Willis. Raised in Scotland Neck, NC, within a family deeply rooted in faith, education, and perseverance, Roy’s early years shaped the values that would define his remarkable life.

After the family relocated to Portsmouth, Virginia, he graduated at the top of his class from Booker T. Washington High School, demonstrating both academic excellence and an early sense of leadership. A few years earlier in 1954, a US Supreme Court Justice, The Honorable Thurgood Marshall, had successfully argued a landmark civil rights decision called Brown vs. the Board of Education. Roy decided to test the law in Virginia in real time.

Though accepted to the College of William & Mary and testing on the ‘genius level’, Roy was denied registration due to racial discrimination. Undaunted, he pursued his studies in Chemistry at Norfolk State University before transferring to the University of Virginia (UVA)—a decision that would make history.

In 1961, Roy became the first African American student to enroll in UVA’s College of Arts and Sciences and the first African American to live on the historic Lawn, residing in Room 43 West. His courage, intellect, and quiet determination broke barriers and transformed the university’s landscape forever. In recognition of his pioneering legacy, UVA dedicated a plaque in his honor in 2010. Former UVA President John Casteen, who attended UVA alongside Roy, later presided over the 1993 commencement ceremony for Roy’s twins, Maceo and Nia—a powerful testament to the enduring influence of the Willis family.

After graduating from UVA, Roy served as 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army in Germany. In 1965, he was named MVP of the US Army Basketball Tournament. Upon fulfilling his military duty, Roy decided to pursue law at Howard University in Washington, DC-- in the vein of the Honorable Thurgood Marshall, but during his studies, he realized that many Black Americans had little understanding of economics. He applied and received acceptance at Harvard University.

In 1967, Roy matriculated to the Harvard Business School (HBS) in order to earn his MBA. While one of six Black graduate students at HBS, he organized and co-founded the Harvard Business School African American Student Union, over strenuous objection from the school's administration. Despite their objections, the AASU was able to convince the administration that it needed to do much more to recruit African American students, more than quadrupling the next incoming African American class to 27. By Roy's graduation year in 1969, the incoming class increased again to nearly 60 African American HBS students. Thanks to the pioneering efforts of Mr. Willis, the Harvard Business School AASU has helped to graduate thousands of African American MBAs over the past 57 years. It has produced many of today's brightest leaders, and continues to create the leaders of tomorrow.

Roy’s professional life reflected the same visionary spirit that defined his personal journey. His career in community development spanned Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, where he played a vital role in projects such as Yerba Buena Gardens—a landmark example of urban renewal that balanced progress with social responsibility. The iconic black-owned "Dock of the Bay" Restaurant in the Berkeley Marina was another of Roy's legacy projects: featuring fine dining, a Southern Cuisine experience, with a Lounge and Live Music Space. The Dock of the Bay, named after one of Roy's favorite Otis Redding songs, catered to the Black Intelligentsia, the Vanguard Elite, numerous entertainers, politicians, and athletes, to name a few.

Due to Roy's influence on the Bay Area landscape, former LA Mayor Tom Bradley recruited Roy to move to Southern California in the 1980s. They had a singular mission: to 'create a first-class Downtown LA.' As the Deputy Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA LA/Rebuild LA), he developed projects in Downtown (Disney Performing Arts Center, Bunker Hill, etc.), South LA (the USC Corridor) and Watts (the Nile River Walk at the Watts Towers, a Metro Station, a public library, African and Mayan Pyramids, etc.).

From 1985 to 2008, the establishment of the African Marketplace (AAM) was one of Roy's proudest moments, along with AAM founder Dr. James Burks. The AAM had a clear and succinct purpose: 'Uniting the Diaspora'. The community celebration/installation was not just successful in LA, but at the Historic Hunter's Point Shipyard in SFO, with the support of stakeholders like the Honorable Willie Brown and the Lennar Realty Corporation.

More recently, the USC Ross Program in Real Estate was founded by USC and the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA) as a response to the 1992 Civil Unrest (from the brutal LAPD beating of Rodney King) to aid in the rebuilding of the inner city. In seeking an inclusive process, the CRA found a lack of minority developers with specific knowledge and skill sets in real estate development and finance. In response, Richard Benbow, then CRA deputy administrator, and Roy Willis, then CRA administrator, organized community leaders, including Linda King-Wright, Barbara Harris, and Michael Banner, along with USC faculty members Stuart Gabriel and David Dale-Johnson, to advocate for a specialized program to help local residents participate in redevelopment. These leaders recognized that real estate was a key component to economic development and self-determination for underserved communities.

A steadfast advocate for equity and opportunity, Roy used his intellect and integrity to kick open doors for others, leaving a profound and lasting imprint on every community he touched.

Roy was preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Percy and Mildred Willis, and two of his brothers, Percy David “Dave” Willis (Rosa), and Robert Willis. He leaves behind his devoted wife of 45 years, Dean Willis; he is survived by his former wife, Patricia Cooper, and their twin children, Maceo and Nia Willis Raymond (the late Grant Raymond); his daughters, Gena Avery Knowles and the late Tiffany Smith (Rick), whom he cherished as his own; and his grandchildren, Robert Smith, Avery Smith, Christian Smith, and Maya Willis. He is also survived by his siblings: Claude Willis (Lorella), Shirley Shaw, Etta Wilkins, and Addie-Viola Baldwin Gaines (widow of Robert Baldwin, Sr.; and Albert Gaines, second husband), along with a wide circle of family, friends, and admirers who honor the extraordinary life he lived.

Roy Willis will forever be remembered as a man of faith, conviction, and purpose—a trailblazer who walked with humility, served with love, and kicked open pathways for generations to follow.