Eddie Williams (activist)

Eddie Nathan Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 18, 1932 to Edie Williams, a jazz pianist, and the former Georgia Lee Barr. Williams instead worked for the Memphis Star-Times and the Atlanta Daily World, both Black newspapers. He also worked under Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey. He became the Director of the Center for Policy Studies at the University of Chicago in 1968. During this time, he transformed it into the focal point of political thought and research within the black community along with the creation of an inventory of 10,000+ Black Elected Officials. Williams also helped with the creation of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. He also founded Focus Magazine as a way to develop a space for black officials, activists, academics etc. throughout the country to work together. == Personal life ==

Williams married his wife, Jearline Franklin, in 1982. They had three children: Larry Williams, Traci Lynne Williams, and Terence Reddick. He died in 2017, aged 84, in Bethesda, Maryland. ==Awards and recognition ==

Williams has received several awards including: • Congressional Black Caucus Adam Clayton Powell Award (1982) • The MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1988) • Washingtonian of the Year Award (1991) • National Black Caucus of State Legislators Nation Builder Award (1992) • The Louis E. Martin Great American Award (2015) National Journal political magazine once named Eddie N. Williams as one of the 150 people outside government who wield the greatest influence in Washington, D.C. ==References==