Terry Lee Williams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terry Williams | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1982 | |
| Member of the Utah State Senate for the 1st district | |
| In office 1982–1986 | |
| Member of the Utah House of Representatives | |
| In office 1981–1982 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 22, 1950 Artesia, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Utah (MA) Weber State College (BA) |
| Occupation | Administrator - Bishop - Politician |
Terry Lee Williams (born March 22, 1950) is an American retired university administrator, ecclesiastical bishop, and politician. A Democrat from Salt Lake City, he was the first African American to serve in the Utah State Senate, from November 1982 to December 1986. He had previously served in the Utah House of Representatives from 1981 through 1982. He was the second African American to serve in the Utah State Legislature, following the 1976 election of state representative Robert Harris.
William was born in Artesia, New Mexico, on March 22, 1950. His stepfather was an agricultural migrant worker, and the family (including his mother and five other children) spent three years in Burley, Idaho, as the only Black people in Minadoka County. The family fled Idaho after white men in cars shot at their house and hurled incendiary devices while others stood across the street and hurled insults. "We were quite literally driven out of town," he recalled in a 1986 interview. After a brief return to New Mexico, the family settled in Salt Lake City in 1960 to continue medical treatment at the Shriners Children Hospital. He had been severely burned in a house fire. The family became active in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.[1]
Williams graduated from South High School and Weber State College, where he served as president of the Young Democrats.[1] He received a scholarship to earn a bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in Anthropology from Weber State. He was awarded a full fellowship at the U of U to earn his master's degree in economics from the University of Utah. He was appointed as a State House Intern by Governor Scott Matheson at the Utah House of Representatives in the mid-1970s.[2] After graduation, Williams became a community organizer and campaign worker in Salt Lake City. He was the director of the Multi-Ethnic Corporation, which empowered citizens to be involved in the local government and helped low-income minority entrepreneurs launch start-up companies.he was named Director of the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP, which had a sister branch in Pocatello, Idaho.[2]