Ricky Wilkins, Memphis attorney and civic leader, dies at 58, leaves impact on city

Ricky E. Wilkins left Memphis for college, attending Howard University and Vanderbilt Law School.

But after law school, he returned to Memphis, ready to make an impact as an attorney in a city he loved.

Wilkins, 58, died Thursday of brain cancer. He left behind him a legacy of representing Memphis as an attorney and a longtime member of the Memphis Housing Authority.

A graduate of Carver High School in Memphis, Wilkins headed off to Howard on a Greyhound bus with just a duffel bag, recalled his friend Michael Gray, who formerly worked as a deputy director for the city of Memphis.

Wilkins came from a “poor family,” Gray said, but his teachers and guidance counselors raised money for him to attend Howard.

Gray said he first met Wilkins after his return to Memphis from law school when former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton appointed him to the Housing Authority.

“He was like a brother to me, in sickness and in health,” Gray said. “A friend that’s closer than a brother.”

Herenton recalled talking to Wilkins as he finished law school. Wilkins was pondering whether to return to Memphis or go to another city to practice law.

He decided to return.

 “He loved Memphis,” Herenton said.

“Ricky had a great personality,” the former mayor added. “He got along with a diversity of people. He could be jovial and he could be very focused when it came to the practice of law. I always consider him to be a very competent lawyer and a compassionate, caring individual. … Ricky was like a son.”

Among his accomplishments, Wilkins represented the city for several years in a dispute with Beale Street management.

He led his own law firm, The Law Offices of Ricky E. Wilkins, and was a leader in the Memphis Bar Association and the Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association. As an attorney, he also represented the Memphis Charter Commission.

In 2014, Wilkins was a Democratic candidate to represent the 9th Congressional District of Tennessee in the U.S. House, losing to Congressman Steve Cohen in the Democratic primary.

Danielle Inez, director of Innovation and Performance Analysis for Shelby County Government, said embarking on that race for Congress was “one of the most significant challenges of his professional career.” She first met him as he started that campaign, also shortly before she found out she would become a mother.

“For some of the most important years of my young adult life, Ricky was like a father of my own choosing,” Inez said. “He wasn’t just my mentor. He was my confidant, my friend, and my cheerleader. … . Through his mentorship, I found my voice in politics, the courage to stand for what I believe in — even when standing alone — and a willingness to boldly reject the status quo. I’m thankful for his mentors who taught him to pay it forward, for he surely invested a great deal in me.”

Wilkins also left behind two adult daughters. His wife died not long before him and he also buried his mother less than a year ago, Gray said.

Robert Spence, an attorney and longtime friend of Wilkins, said the two quickly became “fast friends” after meeting. He called Wilkins his “foxhole buddy,” someone you could rely on even when times were tough.

“He was a very talented and giving lawyer and person,” Spence said. “Ricky was always involving himself in causes very passionately and he gave so much to the community. This loss, we will suffer and we will miss him.”

In 2017, Wilkins spoke to The Commercial Appeal about his experiences with brain cancer. At the time, he was in remission. He also spoke about a political action committee he had created called MEMPOWER that aimed to help Black Memphians harness political power.

“I’ve been a kid who has had to climb mountains my entire life,” he said then. “I’m accustomed to climbing mountains. I don’t look at them [difficulties] as impossibilities, I look at them as challenges to be overcome.”Katherine Burgess covers Memphis City Government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kathsburgess.