Eddie N. Williams (Finding Aid)

Eddie N. Williams

1932 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Fish

Favorite Time of Year: Spring

Favorite Vacation Spot: The Caribbean

Interview Length: 149 minutes

Interview Date(s): April 24, 2003

Interview Location(s): Office of the President at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Washington D.C.

Abstract

Eddie Williams starts by retracing his mother's side of the family and informs us that they were servants to William Faulkner's family shortly after the Civil War. He also goes into some detail on his father, who died early in Eddie's life, and shares some stories about him. Williams was essentially raised by his mother, and she instills in him the value of education, which leads Williams to the University of Illinois where he starts his college career. Also influential was an elementary school teacher who nurtured Williams's aspirations to become a journalist. He speaks of his childhod in Memphis numerous times as he recalls old friends and experiences. Looking back, he remembers the political situation African Americans were in at that point in time and tells of Memphis Mayor Edward Hull Crump. Eddie Williams discusses the trials and tribulations he experienced while in the Army at Fort Bliss, Texas. He admits that he did not enjoy the position in Artillery and thinks that he was more qualified for work in Intelligence. We then get a glimpse into Williams's teenage years in Memphis, Tennessee as he describes his first job and first car. One of the issues that he had to deal with while growing up in Memphis was police brutality. He recalls times of being harassed by police. In high school Williams is involved in numerous social and athletic activities. His wanting to be a journalist and the aid of a mentor keep him focused on studies and on making steps to be accepted into a journalism school. Williams decides on the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana based on its closer distance to Memphis, compared to other schools to which he applied. He finds the Illinois winters brutal and encounters racism from some teachers. However, Williams makes important connections and learns valuable life Eddie Williams excels in the United States military as he makes his way up the ranks. After becoming an Officer he is accepted into flight school, but after a negative experience with a Battalion Commander he decides to pursue other career avenues. Williams moves to Joliet, Illinois and searches for work as a journalist. He is turned away by all of the Chicago area newspapers he applies to, most likely because he is African American. He finds work at the 'Atlanta Daily World' newspaper as a reporter. Once there, Williams enrolls in graduate school at Atlanta University where he meets professor Sam Dubois Cook. Cook convinces Williams to apply for a grant that would give him the opportunity to intern as a journalist on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Williams initially thinks he has little chance in being selected, but applies based on Cook's persistence. Williams is selected for the grant and relocates to Washington, D.C. where he gets his first experience in politics and eventually ends up working u Between 1969 and 1972 Eddie Williams was the Vice President of Public Affairs at the University of Chicago. He describes this position as his "dream job" for many reasons that he goes on to list. His duties at the university were not limited in any way; the opportunity to change the university for the better was within his reach. However, Williams's colleague Frank Reeves, who was in poor health, asks him to be the President of a newly established not-for-profit organization that ends up being named the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. Going against University of Chicago President Edward Levi's advice, Williams leaves the university and accepts the position. Williams then explains how the Joint Center's mission has changed over the past thirty years as well as his hopes for the organization's future. He then gets into depth on their database, which is accessed by various people involved in political and economic realms. Williams tells how the collected data and research is used as a too Eddie Williams tells the history of the South African branch of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and its goals are there. He then speaks of politicians who have been experts in using the Joint Center's data. Among the politicians Williams touches upon are Harold Washington, Charlie Rangel and John Conyers. In addition, he explains how the Joint Center's data provides a policy framework on many issues which politicians, or anyone using the data, can use to their advantage. Williams discusses his involvement with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton in creating the D.C. Commission on Black Men and Boys that was started in response to the Million Man March. Williams also talks of his role with the Black Leadership Forum as Vice Chairman as well as gives some details on the organization's history and future plans. He is then asked about his views on the current crisis in black leadership. Although he doesn't know if "crisis" is an accurate term, he does speak of the frustration he feels by Eddie Williams states that he would like to be remembered as someone who made a significant and important contribution to society. Eddie Williams shows us a selection of photographs. Photos include Eddie Williams with Vernon Jordan, Louis Martin, Al Gore, George Bush, Bill Clinton, Hubert Humphrey, Colin Powell, Barbara Jordan and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

61 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)