Watkins was born in
Louisville, Kentucky, to a teen mother. Watkins' mother encouraged her children to be the best they could be at anything they did. Larry, who would become Watkins' adopted father, was a tough, stern head of the household who joined the local police force at the age of 30. Watkins struggled in school, earning very poor grades all throughout. along with other fast food restaurants. Watkins' teenage years were tough. His father was a good provider, but very tough, leading him to feel abandoned and unloved. His uncle, eight years his senior, was regularly sent to prison, which only added to his feelings of abandonment. "Those were tough years for me", says Watkins. "I honestly think my mind has blocked them out." Watkins received a small scholarship to the
University of Kentucky, from a group called "Black Achievers", based in Louisville, which was just enough to pay his tuition.
Early adulthood and education During his senior year in high school, Watkins met his first girlfriend. Six months after high school graduation, she gave birth to their first and only child. It was during his time as a graduate student at the University of Kentucky that Watkins became more involved with political activism. The
racist language used in his campus newspaper,
The Kentucky Kernel, led Watkins to begin writing columns himself. In his work, he challenged the racially divisive foundations of his campus. Watkins also battled with the university president at the time,
Charles T. Wethington Jr., referring to him as "Chuck" and claiming that he was racially insensitive and unqualified to be a campus president. Eventually, he went on to pursue his Ph.D. at
Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. At Ohio State University, Watkins enrolled in the business administration doctoral program, concentrating in finance. He finished his Ph.D. in 2002. He was also a visiting fellow at the
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the
Centre for European Economic Research in
Mannheim, Germany. In 2004, Watkins completed his first book,
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about College: A Guide for Minority Students. The book was a success and began his work in public scholarship. "I wrote this book for all the young kids like me who were told they can't go to college", said Watkins. A few months later, Watkins created his second book,
What if George Bush were a Black Man?, a satirical discussion of
President George W. Bush and what he perceives as the presence of
white privilege in America. Watkins explores the criminal justice system, the educational system, and the economic systems of America, using statistics and anecdotes to describe likely fates for President Bush and other privileged individuals if they were poor and Black. He authored several financial advice books, including
Financial Lovemaking 101: Merging Assets with Your Partner in Ways that Feel Good,
Black American Money, as well as
The Parental 411: What Every Parent should Know about Their Child in College, and
Quick and Dirty Secrets of College Success: A Professor Tells It All. His work has also appeared in such publications as the
Journal of Small Business Management and the
Journal of Economics and Business.
Bill O'Reilly and Juan Williams Watkins has an ongoing feud with
Bill O'Reilly from
Fox News. Watkins referred to O'Reilly and
Sean Hannity as "UnAmerican borderline
Klansmen who graduated from the
Rush Limbaugh School of Arrogant Self-righteousness". During one
CNN episode, after O'Reilly made controversial statements about African Americans during his visit to
Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem, Watkins referred to
Juan Williams as "Bill O'Reilly's happy little Negro", in reference to Williams' insistence that O'Reilly did nothing wrong. In response, Williams wrote a scathing piece about Watkins in
Time. O'Reilly spent a week on his show calling for Watkins to be fired from his post at Syracuse University. Watkins referred to O'Reilly, Hannity, and Limbaugh as "The Axis of Ignorance" for what Watkins believed were racist attacks against the Black community. Later in the spring of 2008, Watkins formed an online protest through his website YourBlackWorld.com. In response to Fox News criticism of Senator
Barack Obama and Pastor
Jeremiah Wright, Watkins asked his supporters to write to Bill O'Reilly's corporate sponsors and complain about O'Reilly's behavior. Watkins' protest led O'Reilly to call for Watkins to be fired and to seek interviews with the chancellor of Syracuse University,
Nancy Cantor. He also sent reporters to question Cantor and ask her why she had not challenged Watkins for his words. In his comments, O'Reilly claimed that Watkins had accused him of wanting to lynch
Michelle Obama, the wife of then Senator
Barack Obama, and that Watkins was "smearing the good name of Syracuse University by spreading these kinds of lies".
Challenge to the NCAA Watkins is an advocate for the rights of
college athletes. In his work as a faculty affiliate for the
College Sport Research Institute at the
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Watkins has challenged the
NCAA on its refusal to compensate college athletes, stating that the NCAA exploits Black families by using young men for their athletic ability and refusing to share the wealth with their families. explaining why athletes should be compensated. He has also challenged the
tax exempt status of the
NCAA, stating that the
United States Congress should step in and conduct an
anti-trust investigation into the NCAA. In op-ed pieces opposite NCAA President
Myles Brand, Watkins has argued that students' rights are being violated on a regular basis by the NCAA and that a fairer compensation model should be used by the league. He cites that the revenues from
NCAA March Madness exceed that of the
Super Bowl and the
World Series combined. Watkins also cites the fact that many coaches are made into millionaires by a system designed to keep star athletes and their families in poverty. At the conference for the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport (NASSS), Watkins cited the work of sociologist
Harry Edwards during the
1968 Olympics as a springboard for Black athlete activism. "Like hookers kept dazed on drugs, the Black athlete is kept ignorant by his coaches so they can continue to rob him blind", said Watkins. "Coaches in college are given little incentive to increase graduation rates, and even choose the classes for the athletes. It's a sham."
Financial activism Through his former position at Syracuse University and YourBlackWorld.com, Watkins also provides regular financial advice to a largely African-American audience. He argues that African Americans should consider their financial independence to be part of their spiritual and social independence. He also argues that African Americans should find a way to "own the land on which you stand", in order to be truly liberated in the U.S. ==Controversies==