Ronnie Williams experienced segregation. He encountered and broke through barriers as an African American in leadership roles. He lived through the death of his brother while in police custody.
None of it could break his spirit or his belief in the power of hope.
“We have to be truth tellers,” Williams told his audience at Arkansas Tech University’s Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center on Thursday, April 13. “We have to acknowledge these injustices exist. But, I’m an optimist. In spite of all those, you can be successful. You can be whatever you want to be.”
Williams served as the ATU Diversity Speaks Lecture Series guest of honor for 2023. His appearance was made possible by the ATU Black Faculty and Staff Organization and the ATU Office of Academic Affairs.
His remarks at ATU focused on the ideas of history, healing, reconciliation and forgiveness.
“Hate is unsustainable,” said Williams. “You can’t carry it.”
He is the author of “Markham Street.” It is about the death of his brother, 20-year old U.S. Army paratrooper Marvin Leonard Williams, while in police custody in 1960 and the Williams family’s search for justice.
Williams emphasized that his book is not intended to cast aspersions on the law enforcement community as a whole. Instead, he said he wrote it out of his love for his lost brother.
A graduate of Hendrix College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, Williams also holds a Master of Science in Education degree from Arkansas State University. He retired from the University of Central Arkansas in 2021 following more than four decades of service to the institution. Williams joined UCA as assistant dean of students in 1980 and was subsequently promoted to director of minority affairs (1990), assistant to the president (1992) and vice president for student services (1996). He added the duties of chief diversity officer in 2013.
His book reflects a core lesson from his professional experiences.
“Never wait until something happens and then react to it,” said Williams. “We must have ongoing, proactive conversations about uncomfortable topics.”
Published in February 2022, “Markham Street” is available for purchase in paperback for $20 at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/markham-street.
Learn more at www.ronniewilliamsauthor.com.
