Haneef Salaam would not be the man he is today without Bernie Wilkins.
Growing up in Southbridge, one of Wilmington’s most historic communities, Salaam remembers Wilkins as a cornerstone of the neighborhood who imparted a strong sense of educational and moral values on the youth. Wilkins’ steadfast commitment to education and providing different opportunities to the neighborhood children helped mold Salaam into the person he would grow to become.
“Mr. Bernie really, really taught me a lot and planted those seeds,” Salaam said. “He’s one of the people who really impacted me in my youth and sewed into my life at a young age to help me to be the man that I am today.”
Wilkins served as a youth coordinator at the Neighborhood House for 25 years, ensuring that opportunities such as citywide flag football or basketball games were always available for the kids.
Wilkins also founded the Delaware Juneteenth Association and was a catalyst for bringing the recognition and official celebration of the holiday to the First State.
On the final day of 2021, Wilkins passed away, having seen his dream fulfilled following state and federal legislation that established Juneteenth as an official holiday. Wilkins leaves behind his wife of 48 years, two daughters and numerous grandchildren, including great and great-great-grandchildren.
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While Wilkins may have passed, his life continues to be celebrated as it remains kindled in memories of loved ones and seen in the character of the children he influenced throughout the years.
“His relationship to the community, his passion and effort to make sure we always had something positive to do and his emphasis on doing well in school are really some of my fondest memories of Mr. Bernie,” Salaam said.
‘A love story until the end’
On a recent morning, Karen Ellis-Wilkins sat inside her dimly lit living room, enshrined in an amber glow emanating from a solitary lamp behind her. Nearby, an album of photos depicting her and Wilkins sat on a small table in front of his regular lounge chair.
Karen met Wilkins during his time as a business administration teacher at Wilmington’s P.S. DuPont High School, however, it wasn’t until about three years later that the couple got together. Forty-eight years followed and it was “a love story to be written,” Karen remembers.
“It would have been 49 years on Valentine’s Day but we had such a love that for us, Valentine’s Day was every day,” she said, “and I get kind of emotional because he was my life,” she said.
The pair were married for about 25 years despite being together for close to half a century. Wilkins would ask Karen to marry him every year, only to be declined at each offer.
“He would ask me to marry him every year and I said, ‘Nah, we don’t need to get married,'” Karen said. “So I finally said, ‘well, maybe I will’ and I asked him to marry me.”
With a slight chuckle, she added: “He said no.”
After a couple of days, the two finally got married at the courthouse downtown.
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Before meeting Karen and prior to his time as a high school teacher, Wilkins graduated from Wilmington High School before serving in the U.S. Air Force for about four years. He would go on to attend Delaware State University – which was then Delaware State College – and play on the school’s basketball team.
A scholarship would later be created in his honor at the university to help students studying business administration. Following his time as a teacher, Wilkins was a youth coordinator at Kingswood Community Center before moving to the Neighborhood House.
The impact that Wilkins had on Southbridge was not only felt by the neighborhood children, but also by his colleagues at the community center.
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Cynthia Williams, youth coordinator at the Neighborhood House and a longtime colleague of Wilkins, described him as a humble, energetic and soft-spoken man who always ensured that the children had what they needed, including any school supplies. Wilkins would often ferry the children to 76ers’ games and to McDonald’s on the days he got paid, Williams recalled.
“The kids knew that they could come to Mr. Bernie for anything,” she said. “The kids were very attached to him.”
Following his death, an outpouring of Facebook posts and comments appeared online, detailing the impact that Wilkins had on the various lives of neighborhood children who were now adults.
“Mr. Bernie has been a pillar of S.B. Community, he has touched my life, he also played a role in my children’s life, and for that we are forever thankful,” one comment read.
A legacy fulfilled
Darelene Willis remembers attending one of the first parades celebrating Juneteenth outside of her father’s store with her then-2-year-old daughter in Southbridge. Her daughter, who frequented the Neighborhood House for pre-K, then joined in the parade and began marching alongside the caravan.
As Willis attempted to retrieve her daughter from the parade, Wilkins stopped her and insisted that her daughter continue to march in an effort to instill the education and pride that came with the celebration of the holiday, Willis recalled.
Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. and originates on June 19, 1865, the day when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, and announced that slaves in the state were free – more than two years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
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Following a trip to a conference in 1994, Wilkins became aware of the annual celebration of Juneteenth and decided to advocate for the recognition of the holiday in Delaware, hoping to educate residents about the history and celebrate the holiday statewide. That same year, he founded the Delaware Juneteenth Association.
“Juneteenth was his baby,” Karen said.
In 2000, Wilkins and fellow colleagues from the organization helped bring about legislation that declared Juneteenth a day of observance in the state.
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Twenty-one years later, President Joe Biden established Juneteenth as a national holiday only to be followed by the signing of state legislation that declared the holiday official in Delaware.
“He was overjoyed,” Karen said in regard to how Wilkins reacted following the legislation. “It gave him much pride knowing that he was a part of bringing this here to Delaware.”
Following her husband’s death, Karen received an immense amount of condolences and letters from city, state and federal officials who offered their sympathies and reiterated the grand scope of Wilkins’ service to the state.
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President Biden was among them, sending a letter that celebrated her husband’s work and his commitment to Delaware, including his successful and “tireless” efforts to have Juneteenth recognized as a state holiday.
“I hope you find some comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on through you and in all the lives he touched,” the letter read.
“While the grieving process never truly ends, I promise that the day will come when Bernie’s memory will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye.”
For more than 48 years, every time Karen looked at her husband, butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
“And that was until the end, so for me, it was a love story until the end,” she said. “He loved me and I loved him.”
Contact the reporter at jcastaneda1@delawareonline.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.
