Arthur Watkins Jr.

Arthur Watkins Jr. is the Primary Trustee of the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT), where he oversees national verification standards, cultural governance operations, and trust-based protections for Verified Freedmen. Under his leadership, FRFT has established a status-based framework for identity clarification, federal-level documentation initiatives, and community legal advocacy through the American Freedmen Legal Fund.

Watkins directs multi-department coordination across verification, compliance, donor engagement, genealogy, and policy, ensuring that all Trust activities adhere to private-trust law, intellectual-property protections, and federally recognized naming rights. His work centers on safeguarding Freedmen heritage, preventing misclassification, and strengthening institutional partnerships that serve Verified Freedmen across the United States.

He continues to guide the Trust’s strategic expansion, legislative engagement, and national outreach efforts.