Frederick B. Williams

Frederick Boyd Williams (23 April 1939 – 4 April 2006) was a religious leader of national importance in the United States. As Canon of the Church of the Intercession in Harlem, New York from 1971 to 2005, he led an influential congregation, the first in the nation to establish a programmatic response to AIDS. A patron of the arts, he provided the first home for the Boys Choir of Harlem. He was a co-founder of the Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement (HCCI), which coordinated 90 congregations to develop 2000 units of housing and retail space. While earning a doctorate from Colgate Rochester Divinity School, he led a congregation that worked for civil rights and social justice, both in the United States and Africa.

Early life and education Born 23 April 1939 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Williams grew up in the South. He earned a bachelor's degree at Morehouse College, a historically black college in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned a second bachelor's degree at General Theological Seminary in New York. Later he earned a doctorate from Colgate Rochester Divinity School.

Career Williams was one of a generation of activist ministers who were important in New York. He started as a parish priest in Washington, DC and Inkster, Michigan. This was during the height of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Through his work, Williams became a friend of Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, who sometimes officiated at the Church of the Intercession on his visits to the United States. RAN is a network of over 300 congregations throughout the U.S. that continues to provide prophetic witness to issues in Africa and to influence US policies toward nations there.

Death On 4 April 2006 Williams suffered a fatal heart attack. He was survived by a godson and several cousins.

Legacy and honors Williams was named honorary canon of the cathedral in Gaborone, Botswana, for his support of African liberation movements. 2003 – The Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts established a prize in his name in pastoral theology. 2006 – Cong. Charles B. Rangel of New York read an appreciation of the life of Canon Williams into The Congressional Record.