Mr. Rich Watkins

Richard is a Memphis native who graduated from Morehouse College and then Georgetown Law School. He has practiced in the area of intellectual property law in law firm private practice and corporate in house positions in Philadelphia, Chicago, and now Memphis. Outside of his law practice, Richard has volunteered his time serving at the local executive officer level in the Morehouse alumni networks in each of the three cities above. He reached the level of president in Chicago and in Memphis. While in Chicago, Richard led his alumni chapter in raising over a fifty thousand dollars in scholarship funds for area Morehouse students. While in Memphis, he was able to turn a loss leading event for his local alumni network into a positive generator of scholarship funds. Richard is pleased to lend his talents to the Lynching Sites Project to further the goal of changing the narrative in Shelby County. 

Richard is married to Rev. Ayanna Watkins, Executive Director of Memphis Interfaith Coalition For Action and Hope. They are the proud parents of two daughters, with the youngest born in the summer of 2020. Richard enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, bow hunting, cycling, and listening to live music.