The Memoirs of Robert and Mabel Williams - by Robert F Williams & Mabel R Williams

Book Synopsis

Born in Jim Crow-era Monroe, North Carolina, Robert F. Williams and Mabel R. Williams were the state's most legendary African American freedom fighters. The Williamses' leadership in Monroe was just the beginning of a lifelong pursuit of freedom and justice for Black people in the United States and for oppressed populations throughout the world. Their activism foreshadowed major developments in the civil rights and Black Power movements, including Malcolm X's advocacy of fighting oppression "by any means necessary," the emergence of the Black Panther Party, and Black solidarity with Third World liberation movements.

Robert documented his experiences in Monroe in his classic 1962 book, Negroes with Guns, and completed a draft of his memoir, While God Lay Sleeping, months before his death in 1996. Mabel began a memoir of her own before her death in 2014. The family selected John Bracey Jr., Akinyele K. Umoja, and Gloria Aneb House to edit and complete the manuscripts, which are presented together in this book, offering a gripping portrait of these pioneering freedom fighters that is both deeply intimate and a fierce call to action in the ongoing fight against racial injustice.

Review Quotes

"Before Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, before Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Leadership Conference, and before Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Robert and Mabel Williams were guiding us with their daily examples in Monroe, North Carolina. They showed that it is possible to live and tell the truth without shuffling and tap-dancing for the enemy. Professors Umoja, House, and Bracey have provided us with a masterwork of essential Black international knowledge."--Haki R. Madhubuti, founder and publishe of Third World Press, author of Black Men: Obsolete, Single, Dangerous?

"Breathtaking, audacious, thrilling, and a powerful testament to the unwavering commitment to Black liberation that defined the Williamses' lives, this book is a must for anyone seeking to understand the true depth of the Black freedom struggle and its relevance to today's political landscape."--Nkechi Taifa, Esq., author of Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice

"The insights of the editors, established activists who were involved with the movement when the Williamses' international travel and activism was at its height, make for a truly valuable read." --Edward Onaci, author of Free the Land: The Republic of New Afrika and the Pursuit of a Black Nation-State

"These memoirs are rich with anecdotes and are crucial in helping flesh out many storylines about the Black freedom struggle. Together they offer intimate portraits of important actors and events in the United States and abroad."--Charles Payne, author of I've Got the Light of Freedom: The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle

About the Author

Akinyele K. Umoja is a professor of Africana studies at Georgia State University.
Gloria Aneb House is a poet, activist, and associate professor emerita of interdisciplinary studies at Wayne State University.
John H. Bracey Jr. (d. 2023) was a professor of Afro-American studies at University of Massachusetts Amherst.