Early Life
Williams was born on December 22, 1898, in Bennettsville, South Carolina, as the last of five children; his father was a former slave, while his mother was a cook, nurse, and evangelist. His innate curiosity concerning the realities of racial inequality and cultural struggles, particularly those which involved African Americans, began as early as his fifth-grade year. Years later, he was quoted in an early interview as saying: "I was very sensitive about the position of Black people in the town... I wanted to know how you explain this great difference. How is it that we were in such low circumstances as compared to the whites? And when they answered 'slavery' as the explanation, then I wanted to know where we came from."
He moved with his family to Washington, DC in the early 20th century. His first wife, Dorothy Ann Williams, died in 1925, leaving him a widower with five children.
Read more about this topic: Chancellor Williams
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