Isaac W. Williams (1945-2008), born in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, was an activist with the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

Early life and education

Williams was born the seventh child of eleven in the predominantly African-American Union Heights area of Charleston, South Carolina.Interview with Isaac W. "Ike" Williams
Robert J. Moore Civil Rights Oral History Project (Jan 30, 2003) Williams graduated from Bonds-Wilson High School in Charleston County in 1963. He also graduated from

South Carolina State College South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...

with a degree in biology. The Army ROTC commissioned Williams in 1967, and he served on active duty in the United States from 1967 to 1969.

NAACP activism

Early civil rights movement

Williams was a prolific NAACP activist throughout his life, particularly during the

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

of the 1960s. His participation in protest actions such as

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s resulted in his being jailed over 17 times during that time. His efforts focused on police use of force, inadequate minority housing, and minority education, among other things. Williams's involvement with the NAACP started around 1960 when he was in tenth grade at Bonds-Wilson. At that time, he served as president of the North Charleston youth chapter of the NAACP. In a 2003 interview, he recalled arranging for civil rights lawyer Matthew J. Perry to give a speech for his chapter in 1960, describing it as a significant formative event for him. During his college years, Williams served as the president of the NAACP's South Carolina Conference Youth Division from 1963 to 1967, as well as chairman of the NAACP National Youth Work Committee in the 1965–1967. In 1967, as senior class president, he led a student uprising at South Carolina State University (then South Carolina A&M College), protesting college president Benner C. Turner. The protest lasted two weeks and approximately 80% of the student body participated. Turner resigned in 1968 as a result of the pressure.

Later years

From 1969 to 1983, Williams was the Field Director of the NAACP in South Carolina. In March 1982, Williams was arrested on gambling and drug charges with five other men following a raid on the home of his friend, Willie Fleming. The drug charges against all the men were dropped shortly after the arrests. The gambling charges were dismissed on April 27, 1982 but were refiled on April 29. Williams described the refiling as harassment and stated he felt the police were overreacting to the situation. Williams and his co-defendants were acquitted of all charges on June 18, 1982. He described it as a learning experience, stating it taught him a lesson about the amount of scrutiny that black leaders are under.

Political campaigning

In 1991, Williams led the election campaign for Rep. Jim Clyburn. After Clyburn was elected, Williams served as his chief congressional aide. Williams held the position until his death from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

in 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Isaac W. 1945 births 2008 deaths African-American people in South Carolina politics NAACP activists People from Charleston, South Carolina South Carolina State University alumni 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people