Armstrong Williams Biography

With a widely syndicated newspaper column, radio talk show and television program, Armstrong Williams is one of the leading conservative African American voices. Born on February 5, 1959, in Marion, South Carolina, Williams is an outspoken advocate of conservative and Christian values in mainstream and black media. He was reared with his nine siblings on a 200-acre tobacco farm in South Carolina.

A third-generation Republican, Williams traces his political ancestry to the party of Abraham Lincoln. He graduated from South Carolina State University in 1981 and was mentored by former Senator Strom Thurmond as a legislative aide. From 1982 to 1986, Williams worked as a confidential assistant to the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Clarence Thomas, before moving into the field of public relations. He worked as a vice president for governmental and international affairs with B&C Associates before launching the Graham Williams Group in 1991.

Williams first made waves during the controversy surrounding the appointment of Thomas to the Supreme Court. His columns defending his former boss were reprinted in newspapers around the country, marking Williams' debut as a media personality. Since then, he has written weekly syndicated columns on American culture and politics. In 1991 Williams got his first radio show, and by 1995 The Right Side with Armstrong Williams achieved national distribution. The same year he published a successful book, Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed By Breaking the Dependency Barrier. Williams also hosts a political talk show, The Armstrong Williams Show, which is seen by 14 million households nationwide.

Beyond his own shows, Williams is a regular guest and commentator for several networks. He was the first African American conservative to appear regularly on Black Entertainment Television's Lead Story, and the first conservative regular on America's Black Forum. Williams also offers two-minute commentaries for National Public Radio's Marketplace. Talkers Magazine named him one of the 100 most important radio talk show hosts in America.

A lifelong member of Phi Beta Sigma, Armstrong Williams has served on the national board of Childhelp USA since 1998. He is also a board member of The Washington Afro-American Newspaper.

Selected Bibliography
Williams, Armstrong. Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed by Breaking the Dependency Barrier. New York: The Free Press, 1995.

Williams was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 29, 2003.