Cutting to the Chase
At age 12, he was too young to have an official job. But Tony, the shop’s owner, would give him $20 to sweep hair and clean windows on the weekends.
“The ‘Who’s greater: Kobe or LeBron?’ arguments and the older barbers’ magnificent stories were a chorus over the dull hum of their clippers,” Williams recalls. “I absorbed their wisdom, experience, and confidence so much that from a young age I sounded persuasive … Just that bit of exposure over a couple of summers set me on this path.”
Cutting to the Chase
At age 12, he was too young to have an official job. But Tony, the shop’s owner, would give him $20 to sweep hair and clean windows on the weekends.
“The ‘Who’s greater: Kobe or LeBron?’ arguments and the older barbers’ magnificent stories were a chorus over the dull hum of their clippers,” Williams recalls. “I absorbed their wisdom, experience, and confidence so much that from a young age I sounded persuasive … Just that bit of exposure over a couple of summers set me on this path.”
While career goals motivate many who pursue such lofty positions, Williams had other incentives.
“I sought to learn the language of power,” he says. “The law is gatekept, empowering the few at the expense of the rest. As the first in my family to go to law school, I came to Berkeley to learn the law so I could empower those around me.”
Williams works to expand the CLR’s accessibility to potential readers and members while keeping its excellence front and center — a delicate balance he works to strike with intention and care.
Navigating tricky terrain in leadership roles is nothing new. In various positions with the UC Student Association during his undergrad days at Berkeley, he authored a state budget proposal that secured $22.5 million in funding to student-initiated opportunity programs. In addition, he worked to expand the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students at UC campuses, increase higher education funding for impoverished students and their families, reinstitute undocumented student services, and voice students’ legislative priorities.
Last spring, he led the Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy in organizing a compelling conference on reparations (see “Examining Repair Through Reparations“). Noting that momentum for reparations to African Americans in California is at an all-time high, he remains “clear-eyed that this is a controversial topic” but says, “that is exactly why the discussion must be had.”
A summer associate at Morrison Foerster in San Francisco last summer, Williams has received several scholarships for his achievements. Just before he left for law school, he paid another visit to Lord Tony’s.
“Tony was proud to see that I graduated from college and was intent on becoming a lawyer,” Williams says. “Seeing him and the barbershop that was home away from home reminded me of my own dedication and perseverance, and reinforced why I’m a zealous advocate.”