Samuel Laing Williams (January 10, 1857 – December 21, 1921) was the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

to graduate from the Law School of the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

, then called Columbian University, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Founded in 1821 as Columbian College, Columbian University briefly admitted African Americans to its law program some time between 1865 and about 1890. Williams may have been the first African American admitted to any GW program when he applied in 1882; he experienced discrimination from his white peers but was said to have eventually won their respect, along with that of the faculty, who awarded him a top law thesis prize. He earned his LL.B. from Columbian University in 1884 while also working at the United States Pension office. He was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar on June 18, 1885, then went on to earn his LL.M. from Columbian University's graduate law program in 1885. Out of a student body of just over 180 law students, only three other African Americans are known to have attended Columbian University Law School during this time: Robert Bruce Bagby from

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, Theodore H. Greene from

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, and George Langhorne Pryor from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, who were all enrolled as seniors in 1886. At least one other African American, William Henry Harrison Hart, is known to have been rejected admission in 1885. This window of admissions of African Americans soon closed, and

did not drop its racial exclusion policies until 1954, after George Washington University Law School merged with National University Law School, which had already desegregated.

Biography

Williams was born in Savannah,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, between 1854 and 1859, the child of an African-American woman known only as Nancy, and an unknown white Englishman. One obituary gives his birth date as January 10, 1857. Little is known of his early life, but by 1870, he was living in Chicago with David and Ann Laing, both from England; listed on the census as "Samuel Williams" (he included the name "Laing" later), he moved with them to Columbiaville,

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, where David Laing opened an iron foundry. Williams enrolled in the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1877 and graduated in 1881 with an A.B. degree. For a short time, he moved to

Greensboro, Alabama Greensboro is a city in Hale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 2,497, down from 2,731 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Hale County, Alabama, which was not organized until 1867. It is part o ...

, to teach in the Tullibody Academy, a private school for African-American boys. He then moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked as an adjudicator in the United States Pension Office, and soon after, entered Columbian University Law School. While in law school, he met Frances "Fannie" Barrier (1855–1944), an African-American teacher then in Washington, D.C., who went on to work as a social activist, clubwoman, lecturer, and journalist working for social justice, civil liberties, education, and employment opportunities, especially for black women. Williams moved back to Chicago in 1885, but continued to visit Barrier in Washington. The two were married at her parents' home in Brockport, New York, on April 20, 1887, celebrated with receptions in Washington, and then moved to Chicago, where they became leaders in the African-American community. They were friends and associates of black activists representing a range of ideologies, including

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

and

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

, and with white reformers, including

Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...

Mary McDowell Mary Eliza McDowell (November 30, 1854 – October 14, 1936) was an American social reformer and prominent figure in the Chicago Settlement movement. Early life Mary Eliza McDowell was born on November 30, 1854 to Malcolm and Jane Welch Gord ...

, and Philip D. Armour, whom they convinced to fund the founding of Provident Hospital, which had a biracial staff and clientele and a nursing school for African Americans. Williams worked as a lawyer for the Chicago NAACP and served as its Vice President in 1914. He served as Assistant U.S. District Attorney in Chicago during the Roosevelt and Taft administrations, and was one of the best known African-American lawyers in the country and regarded by many as a brilliant orator. He died in Chicago on December 21, 1921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Samuel 1857 births 1921 deaths Lawyers from Washington, D.C. African-American activists 20th-century American lawyers Lawyers from Chicago 19th-century American lawyers George Washington University alumni NAACP activists University of Michigan alumni 20th-century African-American lawyers