Isaac W. Williams (1945–2008) was an American activist with the

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

Early life and education

Williams was born the seventh child of eleven in the predominantly African-American Union Heights area of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

.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. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

with a degree in biology. The

Army ROTC The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

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 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 South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

(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 James Enos Clyburn (born July 21, 1940) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for . First elected in 1992, Clyburn is in his 17th term, representing a congressional district that includes most of the majority-black precinc ...

. After Clyburn was elected, Williams served as his chief congressional aide. Williams held the position until his death from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in 2008.

References

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