Avon Williams facts for kids
Avon N. Williams, Jr. (born December 22, 1921 – died August 29, 1994) was an important State Senator in Tennessee. He served in the Senate from 1972 to 1992. He was a key leader in the Civil Rights Movement and worked hard for fairness and equality for all people.
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Who Was Avon N. Williams, Jr.?
Avon Nyanza Williams, Jr. was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He graduated from Johnson C. Smith University in 1940. This was an historically black university in Charlotte, North Carolina. Later, he studied law at the Boston University School of Law. He became a lawyer in Tennessee and Massachusetts in 1948.
He practiced law in Knoxville from 1949 to 1953. Then, he moved to Nashville. In 1956, he married Joan Bontemps. They had two children, Avon Williams III and Wendy Janette Williams.
Fighting for Civil Rights
Avon Williams, Jr.'s first cousin was Thurgood Marshall. Marshall was a chief lawyer for the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund. In Nashville, Williams was very active in the NAACP. He served on its executive board for a long time.
He was also a dedicated civil rights attorney. He became a key figure in the Nashville-area Civil Rights Movement. Through his work, he met Z. Alexander Looby. Looby was another African American lawyer focused on civil rights. Williams joined Looby's law practice. Together, they helped defend African Americans who were part of the movement.
Williams was also an active member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He served as a Reserve lieutenant colonel in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. He also taught "dental jurisprudence" at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. This is one of the few historically black medical schools.
Working for School Equality
Williams worked very hard for school desegregation. This means ending the separation of students by race. He was a lawyer for students in Nashville's school desegregation lawsuit. This case lasted for over 40 years. It led to busing students to different schools. This made him unpopular with some people in Nashville's white community.
In 1955, Williams and Looby filed a lawsuit against the Nashville school system. This case, called Kelley v. Board of Education of Nashville, followed the famous Brown v. Board of Education ruling. It pushed for schools to be desegregated. The case involved the topic of busing and continued for thirty years.
In 1960, Williams and other civil rights lawyers represented students. These students were arrested during the Nashville sit-ins. Williams talked about this event in a 1964 interview. He discussed it with Robert Penn Warren for the book Who Speaks for the Negro?.
In 1967, Williams represented the I-40 Steering Committee. They fought a legal battle to stop Interstate 40 from cutting through North Nashville. This area included Jefferson Street, a historically black neighborhood.
A Leader in the State Senate
In 1969, Williams was elected as a Democrat to the Tennessee State Senate. He represented a new district in North Nashville. He was the first African American senator elected in Tennessee.
From this position, he became very influential in Nashville's black community. He was perhaps its most well-known leader for a time. He strongly pushed for the goals of the Democratic Party and civil rights. As a high-profile African American lawmaker, he received both criticism and praise. This depended on how people viewed his work.
In the 1970s, Williams won an important legal case. This victory allowed the University of Tennessee at Nashville to merge with the historically black Tennessee State University (TSU). This helped speed up the process of integration in the state's higher education system.
Later Life and Legacy
In the late 1980s, Williams began to get sick with ALS. This disease is also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease." He needed help from a chauffeur and attendant. Many thought he would not run for another Senate term in 1988. However, he did, and he was easily re-elected.
This was his last term. He realized he could no longer handle the physical demands of being a senator. He did not seek another term in 1992. He passed away shortly after, in 1994.
To honor his strong dedication to the Civil Rights cause, the downtown campus of Tennessee State University was named after him. This campus was formerly the University of Tennessee at Nashville.
Williams' son, Avon N. Williams III, also became a lawyer. Like his father, he was an attorney. However, unlike his father, he was a Republican. Avon Williams III died suddenly on July 9, 2005.
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