William H. Townsend (July 30, 1914 – September 15, 2005) was an American politician, civil rights activist, and

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

who was one of the first African Americans to serve in the

Arkansas State Legislature The General Assembly of Arkansas is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house Arkansas Senate with 35 members, and the lower Arkansas House of Representatives with 100 m ...

since the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...

. He was elected to the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

representing

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

in 1972 and went on to serve twelve terms in office until 1997.

Early life and education

Townsend was born on July 30, 1914, in West Point,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and raised in Earle,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. He earned a BS in agriculture from the

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

in 1941. He enlisted in the United States Army during World War II and while serving overseas studied at

the University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

. He earned a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

after sustaining a shrapnel wound to his knee. During his military service, Townsend was promoted to the rank of sergeant. After returning home, he studied premed at Howard University and transferred to the Northern Illinois College of Optometry, from which he received his doctoral degree in optometry in May 1950.

Civil rights activism

Soon after graduating, Townsend established an

optometry Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

clinic in

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

. He was the first African American licensed to practice optometry in Arkansas, passing the state's optometric state board examination in August 1950. During the 1950s, Townsend became active in 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 ...

, becoming a founding member of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations (ACHR), formed in 1954, and the Council on Community Affairs (COCA), formed in 1961. Both organizations campaigned to desegregate public schools, facilities, and businesses, with COCA driving the desegregation of downtown Little Rock in 1963. Townsend personally participated in

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 at Little Rock restaurants during the early 1960s. In 1966, he became chair of the Arkansas

Voter Education Project Voter Education Project (VEP) raised and distributed foundation funds to civil rights organizations for voter education and registration work in the southern United States from 1962 to 1992. The project was federally endorsed by the Kennedy adminis ...

, a statewide program to register African American voters. In 1972, he became chair of the Arkansas Council on Human Relations. He was a life member of 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 ...

. In 1962 and 1966, Townsend ran unsuccessfully for a seat on Little Rock's city council. In 1969, Governor

Winthrop Rockefeller Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...

, a reformist Republican, nominated Townsend to serve on the state board of education, but the Arkansas Senate refused to confirm Townsend's appointment.

Political career

In 1972, Townsend was elected to the

alongside Richard Mays and Henry Wilkins III, becoming the first African Americans to serve in the House since the

. ( Jerry Jewell, a dentist and fellow COCA member, was elected to the Arkansas Senate that same year.) A

, Townsend represented a Black-majority district of eastern and central Little Rock. He served twelve terms of office through 1997, declining to seek reelection in 1996 on advice from his doctors. He became vice chair of the House Education Committee by 1979 and chaired the House Aging and Legislative Affairs Committee starting in 1993. He sponsored bills that led to free kindergarten, minimum wages and benefits for school staff, rescindment of the state tax on prescription drugs for senior citizens, and recognition of

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monda ...

as a state holiday. In addition to his political career, Townsend served on the boards of the

Urban League The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...

, the Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind, the First National Bank of Little Rock, and the Arkansas Optometric Association. The optometric association named him Optometrist of the Year in 1981 and continues to award an annual student scholarship in his honor. Townsend was honored with a marker on the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail in 2013.

Personal life and death

Townsend married Billye McNeely in 1952, and the couple had three daughters. He died in Little Rock on September 15, 2005, at the age of 91. He was interred at the Arkansas State Veterans Cemetery in

North Little Rock North Little Rock is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, across the Arkansas from Little Rock in the central part of the state. The population was 64,591 at the 2020 census. In 2019 the estimated population was 65,903, making it the seventh-mo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, William H. 1914 births 2005 deaths 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American legislators Activists for African-American civil rights Activists from Little Rock, Arkansas African-American men in politics African-American state legislators in Arkansas African-American United States Army personnel American optometrists Arkansas Democrats Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives Illinois College of Optometry alumni People from West Point, Mississippi Politicians from Little Rock, Arkansas Tuskegee University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II