[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E256-E257]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO ISAAC W. WILLIAMS, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a dear 
friend, a dedicated staff member and a tremendous South Carolinian, 
Isaac W. ``Ike'' Williams, Sr. Ike passed away February 15, 2008, and 
this significant loss has been felt deeply by his family, his friends, 
his community and his State.

[[Page E257]]

  Ike was born in the Union Heights neighborhood of Charleston, the son 
of the late Reverend Willie Williams and Inez Williams Brown. He grew 
up in a large family with ten brothers and sisters, and attended 
Charleston County public schools.
  In 1967, Ike received a bachelor's degree in professional biology 
from South Carolina State College. During his senior year at S.C. 
State, he was a leader in organizing student protests, which ultimately 
led to the removal and replacement of the president of the university 
and improved overall conditions at the school. After graduating he was 
commissioned through the Army ROTC in Army Air Defense in 1967, and 
served on active duty in the United States and Korea from 1967-1969. He 
was active as a youth in the N.A.A.C.P. and was president of the South 
Carolina Conference Youth Division from 1963-1967. Ike also served as 
chairman of the N.A.A.C.P. National Youth Work Committee from 1966 to 
1976.
  As a student leader, Ike led efforts in Charleston, Orangeburg and 
statewide to open public accommodations to African Americans. He 
actively participated in sit-ins, kneel-ins, walk-ins, and pray-ins, 
and was subsequently jailed over 17 times. He also organized 
communities all over South Carolina during voter registration efforts 
prior to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting 
Rights Act.
  In 1969, Ike was hired as Field Director of the South Carolina 
N.A.A.C.P., a position he held until 1983. He is noted for 
accomplishing several landmark achievements during this period. He 
filed reapportionment lawsuits to eliminate multi-member districts in 
the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate, organized the 
first efforts to make Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday a legal holiday 
in South Carolina, and he drew public attention to inadequate, low-
income housing in South Carolina. Ike also facilitated investigations 
to end police use of excessive force, as well as mobilized citizens in 
Bowman and St. Matthews to improve their local educational systems and 
gain election to their local school boards.
  In addition, Ike expanded the fundraising ability of the South 
Carolina Conference of Branches N.A.A.C.P. by creating the Annual 
Freedom Fund Dinner, a vehicle that raises several hundred thousand 
dollars annually. During this time, he also became one of the founders 
and organizers of the South Carolina United Citizens Party. Ike always 
credited his civil rights involvement to his sister, Mildred, his 
father, Mrs. Mary Lee Davis and Reverend I. DeQuincy Newman.
  From 1983-1992, Mr. Williams worked as a consultant to many 
businesses and corporations in South Carolina, and served as an 
Associate Publisher for the South Carolinian, a monthly news magazine. 
He also worked as an advertising consultant for the South Carolina 
Black Media group.
  In 1992, Ike and William DeLoach spearheaded my successful campaign 
to become the first African American elected to the U.S. House of 
Representatives from South Carolina since post-Reconstruction. He 
joined my Congressional staff after the campaign and served as District 
Aide for 15 years.
  For his lifetime of service, Ike received numerous awards from the 
N.A.A.C.P., many social and civic organizations, and was named to Who's 
Who in America. He was dedicated to community service and served on the 
I. DeQuincy Newman Foundation at the University of South Carolina. He 
was Chairman of the E.A.R. Montgomery Foundation, Chairman of the Board 
of Richland Primary Healthcare Association, and a member of the 
Advisory Board of the Trio Program at the University of South Carolina.
  Ike was a member of First Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in 
Columbia, South Carolina. He was a Prince Hall Free and Accepted Mason 
and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
  Ike leaves a host of friends and relatives to mourn his memory, 
including his wife the former Evelyn Tobin of Columbia, and three 
children: Dechancela Evette, Isaac, Jr. and Shelley Nicole.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the life of Ike Williams. He was a man of deep faith, who always lived 
by the admonition in the Book of James that it is not enough to tell 
those in need to go in faith. Ike was a man that black, white, young, 
old, weak and strong sought out in their time of need, and he tried to 
never leave anyone wanting. Although his presence will be sorely 
missed, his legacy lives on the countless people he touched over the 
years, and I am thankful to be counted in that number.

                          ____________________