Robert Major Walker: 1944-2025

VICKSBURG, Miss. — Robert Major Walker was born on January 17, 1944, to the late Robert Walker Sr. and Annie Mae Weeks Walker. He was their oldest son.

Robert was baptized at Locust Grove Missionary Baptist Church. He served as a deacon at Locust Grove and later at Pleasant Green Baptist Church in Clinton, Miss. He was preceded in death by his parents; one sister, Lucille Sanford; two brothers, Ronnie T. Walker and Patrick L. Walker; and one nephew, Kerry L. Walker.

A graduate of Rosa A. Temple High School in Vicksburg and Jackson State (College) University (JSU), Robert was the first Black student to receive a master’s degree from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. He was a highly regarded historian, speaker, and civil rights activist.

Robert worked at the federal, state, county, and municipal levels of government. He served as Mississippi Field Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); Assistant Secretary of State for Elections for Mississippi; Coordinator of Legal Services for the Poor Programs in Mississippi; in numerous positions at JSU; and as mayor of Vicksburg from 1988–1989, 1989–1993, and 1997–2001. During his tenure as mayor, Robert appointed the city’s first Black police chief and Black municipal judge.

Robert was dedicated to serving all of Vicksburg, and his record speaks to that. He was a key factor, working with others, in launching Head Start and in getting the clinic for indigent HIV/AIDS patients started in Vicksburg and Warren County during the 1980s. He successfully led a 16-year struggle to install in the Vicksburg National Military Park a Civil War monument honoring the service of the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Infantry Regiments, African Descent (re-designated the 51st and 53rd U.S. Colored Troops, or USCT, respectively), and the participation of all Mississippians of African descent in the Vicksburg Campaign. The first of its kind in the National Park System, the monument was unveiled and dedicated in the Vicksburg National Military Park on February 14, 2004.

Under his direction, encouragement, and vision as mayor of the City of Vicksburg, he oversaw the development, publication, and dissemination of Can You Hear Their Voices?, Vicksburg’s first African American brochure developed for tourism and the local community.

The church leader and renowned historian served in a number of high-profile positions, including Warren County District 3 Supervisor; interim athletic director and senior advisor to the president at JSU; chief administrative officer for the City of Jackson; and professor at Tougaloo College. Additionally, Robert taught at the University of Mississippi and Rust College.

He was a lifetime member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., with over 62 years of service, and a member of the National JSU Alumni Association.

Robert is survived by his wife of 59 years, Sylvia Stalls Walker, whom he cherished as his soulmate. From their union came three daughters: Tondia Lewis (the late Anthony Lewis), Robin Vernessa Hart (Rashad), and Marlena Victoria Walker-Bolls (Lamar); seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

He is also survived by four sisters: Eunice Walker-Redick, Mary Louise Walker-Anderson, Debra Walker-Williams (Chuck), and Patricia Walker-Daniel; five brothers: Joseph Edward Walker, Phillip L. Walker (Gwen), Rudolph Walker (Doris), Randolph Walker, and Michael Walker (Aminah).

In lieu of flowers, the family of Robert Major Walker requests donations be made to the Omicron Rho Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Project Alpha Leadership Club, to honor his passion for developing young men through academics, leadership, and service.

Donations may be made through:

• PayPal: PayPal.me/OPLAlphaPhiAlpha
• Checks payable to Omicron Rho Lambda at: P.O. Box 82-1544, Vicksburg, MS 39180
• Cash App: $OPLAlphaPhiAlpha
• Givelify: OPLAlphaPhiAlpha

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