Eddie Williams (activist)

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Eddie Williams
Eddie Williams.png
Born(1932-08-18)August 18, 1932
DiedMay 8, 2017(2017-05-08) (aged 84)
Education University of Illinois

Eddie Williams (August 18, 1932 [1] - May 8, 2017) [2] was an activist and government official.

Contents

Early life and career

Eddie Nathan Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 18, 1932 to Edie Williams, a jazz pianist, and the former Georgia Lee Barr. [1] [3] His father died when he was young and he was raised by his mother. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's in journalism in 1955. After graduation, Williams attempted to get a job at the Champaign-Urbana Courier where he'd worked part time during his education but the paper's owner refused to hire African Americans. [4] [5] Williams instead worked for the Memphis Star-Times and the Atlanta Daily World, both Black newspapers. [3]

Williams joined the US Army in 1955 and was discharged in 1957 after having reached the rank of first lieutenant. [3] [5] Williams then joined the State Department in 1961 as the first Black protocol officer. [1] [6] He also worked under Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey. He became the Director of the Center for Policy Studies at the University of Chicago in 1968. [1]

Williams served as the President of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies from 1972 to 2004. [3] During this time, he transformed it into the focal point of political thought and research within the black community [7] along with the creation of an inventory of 10,000+ Black Elected Officials. [8] Williams also helped with the creation of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. [9] He also founded Focus Magazine [10] as a way to develop a space for black officials, activists, academics etc. throughout the country to work together. [11]

Personal life

Williams married his wife, Jearline Franklin, in 1982. They had three children: Larry Williams, Traci Lynne Williams, and Terence Reddick. [5] He died in 2017, aged 84, in Bethesda, Maryland.

Awards and recognition

Williams has received several awards including:

National Journal political magazine once named Eddie N. Williams as one of the 150 people outside government who wield the greatest influence in Washington, D.C. [17]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Center, Joint (2017-05-09). "Joint Center Mourns Passing of Eddie N. Williams - Joint Center" . Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  2. "Guide to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Records, 1966-2014". David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Roberts, Sam (2017-05-12). "Eddie N. Williams, Who Ran Leading Black Think Tank for Decades, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  4. "EDDIE WILLIAMS". The History Makers. April 2003.
  5. 1 2 3 Gonzalez, Miguel (2020-09-20). "Eddie N. Williams (1932-2017) •" . Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  6. "Williams Named to Employment Post". State Department Newsletter: 13. August 1965 via Hathitrust.
  7. Schudel, Matt. "Eddie N. Williams, leader of think tank exploring black issues, dies at 84". The Washington Post.
  8. DemDigest (2017-05-16). "Eddie N. Williams, head of leading black think tank and true democrat, dies at 84". Democracy Digest. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  9. "NCBCP: NCBCP Mourns Passing of Eddie N. Williams". www.ncbcp.org. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  10. Curtis, Alan (2005). Patriotism, Democracy, and Common Sense: Restoring America's Promise at Home and Abroad. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780742542174.
  11. "Joint Center Mourns Passing of Eddie N. Williams". Joint Center. 9 May 2017.
  12. Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 1973-10-04.
  13. "Class of 1988 - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  14. "Past Washingtonians of the Year | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. 2008-01-29. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  15. "Eddie Williams Receives Joint Center Award Today". Joint Center. 7 December 2015.
  16. "Eddie Williams Receives Joint Center Award Today". The Michigan Chronicle. 2016-11-29. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  17. "Eddie Williams's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2019-08-25.