NMH Magazine : Spring 2003

John Robinson '63

In the span of a two-day train ride, John Robinson's world changed from black to white. Just 13 years old, he traveled alone from Tuskegee, Alabama, to Mount Hermon for his freshman year. Up north, he discovered, segregation wasn't the order of the day as it was at home. His first lesson in this came at the Washington train station, where he was afraid to use the public restroom because there was no sign saying "colored." A porter had to assure him it was okay to go in. 

At Mount Hermon, John was the only black student among 60 classmates. He was given a single room in Cottage 1 while all the other boys were assigned room-mates. John called his parents to tell them about this slight. "If you think you're being mistreated, you can come home," they told him. 

He wasn't about to admit defeat. That year he successfully ran for class president and later lettered in football and basketball, ran track, and sang in various choirs. He earned a reputation for coolness under fire; during his sophomore year, he was the picture of stoicism when told his father had died of a heart attack. Shortly before graduation, John broke his ankle while pole vaulting; true to form, he hobbled across the stage with his head held high. 

That inner Spartan reigned as John attended Brown, then served in Vietnam as a Navy lieutenant. Following graduate school, he started as the juniormost dean at Brown, eventually becoming the seniormost as dean of student life; in 1990 he shifted to the Rhode Island governor's cabinet and a fast-track career in government. Along the way John began to put aside his stoicism and embrace interdependence. Now a Washington veteran completing his first year on the IRS commissioner's staff, he has a seasoned perspective on the world and a deep determination to make it a fairer place.

What's your family background?

I grew up in Tuskegee, where my parents had been students at the university. My father was one of the country's first black postmasters, and my mother taught home economics.

Why did you come to Mount Hermon?

The idea of sending kids away early for a better way was in the family. My parents thought Mount Hermon had an egalitarian feel, and they liked that everybody had to work.

Has your life followed the path you expected it to?

No, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. The path I'd expected–becoming a psychologist or an Episcopal priest–seemed dull when I got up close.

What experience has surprised you most?

In my freshman year at Brown, a Mount Hermon '62 grad who belonged to Sigma Chi was given the duty of telling me I wasn't welcome to rush the fraternity because I was Negro (I was Negro then, African American now). We'd played basketball together and served on the Mount Hermon student council. He had no idea how insulting his words were. Moreover, it was a rude shock that NMH's atmosphere of tolerance was not in effect every

Describe your family.

I married Sylvia Evans in 1983. I was a dean at Brown, and she was a dean at Wellesley. Soon after, I adopted the three children she already had, and we made another in a year, bringing our total blended family to six. Our children now range in age from 31 to 18. It's simple to sum up, but it wasn't simple to do.

What have you learned from parenting?

If I'd known how hard it would be to make a blended family work, I'd have been afraid to marry. If I knew how profoundly satisfying it is to be a father, I'd have had more children and started earlier.

What's been the low point of your life?

Picture me as senior policy advisor to the secretary of energy at the end of the Clinton administration. I was holding on for 17 days while some voters in Florida (not all) and the Supreme Court (not all) decided who the next president would be and if I'd continue as an appointee. On January 18, 2001, I was out of a job, with kids still to educate and a mortgage to pay.

What's been a highlight?

Being selected as a Kellogg Fellow in 1988. The Kellogg Foundation chose 44 of us out of 1,000 applications to this leadership development program, then showered us with grants, learning experiences, and travel for three years.

What's an important lesson you've learned?

Although you may think you're the victim of relationships and circumstances around you, for the most part, these are the circumstances and conditions you've created.

What advice would you give a graduating senior?

Find a way to get paid for doing what you like. If not, then learn to like what you get paid to do.

How did you feel about turning 50? 

Instead of ruing the occasions where you pass over these lines, celebrate the benchmarks and be glad you're still in the game. I'm the first male in my immediate family who lived past 55. My father died at 54 of a second heart attack. My brother died of a heart attack the day before his 52nd birthday. I have a feeling of accomplishment at getting to this age. 

What do you like about this stage of your life?

I like the mellowness that comes with the late 50s. I like being asked for advice and having young people think what I say is wise. And it is.