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Eddie Williams (activist)
Eddie Williams (August 18, 1932[1] - May 8, 2017)[2] was an activist and government official. Early life and careerEddie 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 lifeWilliams 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 recognitionWilliams 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] References
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