Wilfredo P. Rojas, cofounder and retired director of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons Office of Community Justice and Outreach, has died at 73
He protested against racial discrimination in elementary school, cofounded activist groups in high school, and spent the rest of his life uplifting disadvantaged people across the region.
Wilfredo P. Rojas, 73, of Mickleton, Gloucester County, cofounder and retired director of the Philadelphia Department of Prisons Office of Community Justice and Outreach, cofounder of the National Homicide Justice Alliance and the Norris Square Civic Association, former first vice president and communications chair of the Gloucester County NAACP, writer, and social worker, died Saturday, April 5, at Cooper University Hospital of complications from a ruptured brain aneurysm he suffered in 1979.
Born in Puerto Rico, Mr. Rojas came to Philadelphia with his family when he was 6 and almost immediately became a social activist and humanitarian. He protested against racial discrimination in elementary school, cofounded Latino activist groups in high school, and spent the rest of his life feeding, educating, defending, and uplifting disadvantaged people of all races wherever he was.
He got a job as a social worker with the Philadelphia Department of Prisons in 1987 and was appalled by the systemic flaws that created injustices for the incarcerated, their families, the correctional officers, and prison staff. So he proposed an office of community justice and outreach to address the problems, and he was named its first director in 1997.
Over the next 15 years, until his retirement in 2012, Mr. Rojas developed procedures and programs that improved prison services and increased rehabilitation and training opportunities. He created morale-building activities for prison staff and facilitated overall cooperation.
“He was always a man of ideas,” said his wife, Carmen Marrero. “He was always socially conscious, and he always looked out for the underdog. He believed in servant leadership.”
Mr. Rojas was also the longest-serving president of Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican Alliance, cofounder of the Police-Barrio Relations Project, and first member of color on the East Greenwich Township Joint Planning and Zoning Board. He helped organize the local Puerto Rican Independence Party and ran unsuccessfully for Pennsylvania state representative in 1984 and ’86, and for the East Greenwich Township Committee in 2013.
“Know that I am laser focused on empowering people to take up the continuing fight for justice and equality of opportunity through diversity and inclusion of folks of all backgrounds.”
“I always like to engage myself in the communities in which I live,” he told NJ.com in 2013. “It’s just a passionate thing that I have. I want to symbolize that the community can come together, stop the bickering, and look at the businesses, government, and community to work together.”
Personally affable as well as politically radical, he was a serial collaborator. In 1970, he partnered with Juan Ramos to form the Philadelphia chapter of the Young Lords activist group. In 1983, he joined with Nayda Cintron to establish the Norris Square Civic Association, and he worked with his former wife Aleida García to start the National Homicide Justice Alliance in 2015 after their son, Alejandro, was murdered.
He fought injustice against all people, he told Front Runner New Jersey in 2018, because “diversity means nothing without inclusion. … As minorities, we have to use whatever weapons we have to depart information to the public and strategize with them in an effort to get them to take action.”
He created free meal programs and clothing drives for neighbors, and especially championed increased funding for schools and libraries. He wrote stories, columns, and blog posts about all kinds of issues for Front Runner New Jersey, the South Jersey Journal, and Community Focus.
He was tireless, family and colleagues said, and much of his success came after a ruptured brain aneurysm in 1979 that required a long hospital stay and months of grueling rehabilitation. “The guy never stopped,” said Juan Gonzalez, a longtime friend and fellow activist. “He had incredible spirit and resolve.”
“I learned so much from him about reentry, violence prevention and interventions, politics, family, unity, behind the walls, and life itself.”
Mr. Rojas earned many service awards for his achievements, including the 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Champion for Justice Award from the Governor’s Advisory Council on Volunteerism and other groups. In an online tribute, a friend called him “a wonderful man who lived his life in the service of others.”
His wife said: “He was always a fighter. He never gave up easily.”
Wilfredo Paul Rojas was born Feb. 14, 1952, in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. He was raised with other young relatives by his great-aunt and great-uncle in North Philadelphia and picked blueberries in South Jersey fields in the summer.
He was an altar boy at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on North Fifth Street and later thought seriously about becoming a priest. Instead, after leaving high school early, he passed his General Educational Development exams and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in human services and counselor education at Antioch College’s local night school.
“He was sharp and had great facility with the language. He had a gift of the tongue.”
Angel Ortiz, a former city councilmember and onetime director of Community Legal Services, hired Mr. Rojas as a paralegal in 1976. “He was incredibly energetic, bright, and verbal,” Ortiz said.
He was promoted to social work supervisor in the prisons department in 1992 and joined the executive leadership group when he became director of the justice and outreach office in 1997.
He married Carmen Reyes, and they had daughters Enid and Rebecca. After a divorce, he married Aleida García, and they had a son, Alejandro. They divorced, and he married Carmen Marrero in 1995, and they had daughters Rachel and Veronica and a son, Neumann. His son Alejandro and daughter Rachel died earlier.
Mr. Rojas lived in Northern Liberties, Olney, and Fishtown in Philadelphia, and he and his wife moved to East Greenwich Township in Gloucester County in 2011. He was an avid Phillies and Eagles fan, and he hosted Super Bowl parties even when the Eagles weren’t playing.
He was active with the Knights of Columbus and spent memorable vacations in Wildwood, Disney World, and Puerto Rico. He doted on his family.
A friend said in a tribute: “Wilfredo was always fun to be with.” His wife said: “He had a strong personality, great sense of humor, and compassion for people. He could make friends with anybody.”
In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Rojas is survived by nine grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, his former wives, several siblings, and other relatives. A grandson died earlier.
Services were held April 10.
Donations in his name may be made to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, 269 Hanover St., Hanover, Mass. 02339.