A-1 ORAL HISTORY OF THOMAS WILLIAMSON, JR. Index 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, 58 Ad Hoc Committee of Black Students See Harvard University ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), 126 Advocate (magazine), 54 AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children), 138 affirmative action, 42, 50, 164 Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), 119-33 expansion of Medicaid, 119-20 African-Americans, 37, 53, 70, 108, 127-28, 141, 143, 152, 163-65 challenge for parents to raise children, 10 economic status, 3 few federal judges, 100 legal representation, 104 Rhodes Scholars, 67, 73 See also discrimination; integration, Kelson, Martin; Locke, Alaine; Marshall; Thurgood, racism Afro (Harvard student group), 59, 61, 63 Alem Public Relations Consultants, 85-86, 93-94, 104 Amharic language, 93 Amos and Andy (TV show), 23-24 anti-Semitism, 18 Arab oil boycott, 148-49 Arnold & Porter, 154 Bank of America, 81 Battle of Adwa, 78 Berkeley. See University of California School of Law Bersin, Al, 67-68 black lung disease, 163, 171 Black Nationalism, 50, 58, 61 student movement, 64-65 Black Renaissance, 35 Boalt Hall. See University of California School of Law Boy Scouts, 25-26 Bradley, Bill, 67, 69 Brown v. Board of Education, 13, 20 Butler, Lew, 77 California Rural Legal Assistance, 100, 102 inspiration to become a lawyer, 100 Cameroon, 81, 84, 97 Caplan, Livingston, Goodwin, Berkowitz, and Selden, 104 A-2 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), 122 Civil Rights Act, 49, 58 civil rights movement, 13, 21, 29, 69 See also Little Rock Central High School Clinton, Bill, 72-74, 165-66 presidential campaign, 161 Colin Anderson Center, 157 Covington & Burling (formerly Covington & Wilmer), 113-14, 122-24, 126-27, 131, 135, 137-40, 142-44, 152-54, 156, 160-66, 167-73 African American partners, 142-43 Neighborhood Legal Services, 114-15, 137-38 pro bono work, 125-26, 128-29, 171 Crimson (magazine), 51, 54, 64 Crossroads Africa, 81 Crowell and Moring, 142 Cub Scouts, 18, 25 Dalton, Clare, 163, 171 Dawkins, Pete, 69 Defoe, Daniel, 22 Deressa, Dereje, 84-87, 89, 95 Depression, 3 desegregation school, 21 See also discrimination, Little Rock, racism, segregation, U.S Army discrimination, 12, 14, 19, 25, 31, 61, 67, 89, 163 minorities and women, 81 United States Army, 4 Duncan, Thomasenia, 164-65 Eakeley, Doug, 166 Ebony (magazine), 25, 66 entertainers lack of respect for black lawyers, 121 Epps, Archie, 51 Ethiopia, 77-78, 80, 82-85, 88, 90-94, 97, 103, 136 culture, 86, 89 Ethiopian population in Washington area, 112 politics, 72, 78-79 Evers, Medgar, 58 Family and Medical Leave Act, 167 regulations, 167 Gaddafi, Muammar, 77 A-3 Gnaizda, Bob, 100-103 Goodenson, Rob, 97 growing consciousness of discrimination, 25 Haile, Rahel (Helen) (first wife), 93, 103, 112, 114-15 Hall, LeRoy (maternal uncle), 16 Hamilton, Chuck, 61 Harvard, 16, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 51, 53, 55, 61, 64, 65, 70, 83, 88, 92, 96, 101, 162 Ad Hoc Committee of Black Students, 63 Advocate (magazine), 54 Afro (Harvard student group), 65, 67, 29 Crimson (magazine), 51, 54, 64 creation of African studies program, 53 first contact with significant numbers of Blacks, 40 major in Social Studies, 52 racism, 44 Signet Society, 54 social split among Black students, 65 HCFA (Health Care Financing Administration), 131 Hogan & Hartson (later Hogan Lovells), 154 Holiday Spa Health Club Organization, 127 Houston, Whitney, 111 Howard, Jeff, 61 ICFMR (Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded), 118, 159 Idris of Libya, 77 Inspector General Act of 1978, 151 integration, 11, 31, 73 California, 13 See also desegregation, discrimination, Little Rock, racism Jack Benny Program (TV show), 23 Jackson, Henry, 144 Jackson, Michael, 111 Jet (magazine), 25 Kelson, Martin, 53, 65 King Idris. See Idris of Libya King, Martin Luther assassination, 51, 61, 63-64, impact, 58 Klein, Tony, 100 Knivila, Kelly, 162 Korean War, 5 Kramer, Judy, 165 Lewinsky, Sid, 100 A-4 Little Rock, Arkansas, 23, 58, 73, 163 Central High, 21 Clinton, Bill, 179 heightened consciousness, 23-24 integration, 73 Locke, Alaine, 67, 73 Mansfield, J.K. (Ken), 144, 150-51 Marshall, Thurgood, 99 McIntosh, Dan, 105 MDL (Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation), 165 Medicaid, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 129, 137, 161 developmentally-disabled people, 117 IMD (Instituations for Mental Diseases), 119 incentive for states to join, 119-0 states complying with federal regulations, 116-17 waiver issues, 118 mental health Colin Anderson Center, 158 de-institutionalization movement, 157 MEWA (Multiple Employee Welfare Association), 169-70 Mickey Mouse Club (TV show), 14 Miller, Chuck, 115, 138-40, 145 Mills College, 32 Montgomery, Elvin, 61 Morgan State University, 3, 16, 71 NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), 127 National Labor Relations Act, 163 National Labor Relations Board, 163 Neighborhood Legal Services, 114-16, 120-21, 136, 137 Newsweek magazine, 24 NLSP See Neighborhood Legal Services Obamacare See Affordable Care Act Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 164 See also United States Department of Labor Out of Compton (movie), 107 Oxford University, 69-72, 74, 76- 83, 88-89, 92-93, 162-63, 166, 171 Peace Corps, 77, 80, 82, 85, 86, 87, 89, 91, 94, 95, 97 Peddally Everson Martin, 103 Perez, Tom, 170 Piedmont, California, 10, 11, 13, 18, 22, 25, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 55, 56, 115 Public Advocates, 100, 103-04 Pullman Porters A-5 influence, 9 union, 8 Quinn, Oliver, 164-66 racism, 12, 14, 16, 27 Harvard University, 44 University of Virginia, 51 See also discrimination, segregation Randolph, A. Phillip, 8 See also Pullman Porters Reagan administration, 140 Reich, Robert (Bob), 73-74, 163, 171 Renfroe, Diane, 43 Rhodes, Cecil, 67 Ridings, Don, 160 Robinson Caruso (book), 22 Samkange, Stanlake, 160 San Francisco Chronicle, 27-28 Sanders, Stan, 66, 73 segregation, 4, 6, 9, 13, 35, 69 health club, 127 schools, 6, 21 United States Army, 4 See also discrimination, Little Rock, racism, segregation stereotypes and racial assumptions, 18, 23, 29, 50, 101, 102 Thompson, Phyllis, 160-62 token Negro era, 41, 50 United Nations World Food Programme, 161 United States Army discrimination, 4 segregation, 4 United States Department of Energy, 159-63 National Laboratories, 162 United States Department of Health and Human Services, 156 University of California School of Law (Boalt Hall), 92, 103 University of Virginia racism, 56 Voting Rights Act of 1965, 58 Walsh, William Bill, 38 Washington Post, 72 A-6 Wheelus Air Force Base, 77 Wideman, John, 66, 73 Williams, Karen Hastie, 141 Williams, Wes, 141 Williamson, Brenda (sister), 6 Williamson, George (brother), 6, 18 Williamson, George (paternal grandfather), 2 Williamson, Roosevelt (grand uncle), 3 Williamson, Thomas Jr. – Personal Alem Public Relations Consultants, 85-86, 93-94, 104 Amharic language, 93 Boy Scouts, 25 childhood different from most Black children 22 interest in West Point when young, 65 reading Jet and Ebony, 28 started at early age, 22 racial tension, 14 role of church, 31 traffic patrol, 22 Cub Scouts, 18 Ethiopia, 85- 89, 91-93, 95-96, 98-105, 108, 115, 152 culture, 86, 96 Ethiopian population in Washington area, 125 politics, 79, 86, 87, 88, 89, 94, 104, 106, 125 training Ethiopians in English, 100 grandparents, 1 growing awareness of race consciousness, 55 Harvard, 16, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 51, 53, 55, 61, 64, 65, 70, 83, 88, 92, 96, 101, 162 Ad Hoc Committee of Black Students, 63 Advocate (magazine), 54 Afro (Harvard student group), 65, 67, 29 Crimson (magazine), 51, 54, 64 creation of African studies program, 53 first contact with significant numbers of Blacks, 40 major in Social Studies, 52 racism, 44 Signet Society, 54 thesis, 75 social split among Black students, 65 impact of King assassination, 63 high school increasing awareness of racism, 24 interaction with other African Americans, 39, 41 A-7 valedictorian, 30 Japan, 4, 5, 6 junior high death threats, 28 hate mail, 28 class vice president, 27 law school, 107 academic environment, 97 Socratic Method, 98 University of California School of Law (Boalt Hall), 103, 115 model Negro approach, 30 Newsweek (magazine) increased consciousness, 24 Oxford University, 69-72, 76- 83, 88-89, 93, 161-62, 165, 170 academic freedom, 74 tutorial system, 75 Peace Corps, 85, 89, 91, 95-96, 99, 101, 104-06, 108 peer pressure, 33 Piedmont, California, 11-12, 14-15, 20, 24, 26, 30-31, 34, 36-37, 60, 62, 129 Rhodes Scholar, 58, 62, 65-73, 76, 78-80, 88, 92, 110, 165 application and interview process,68-69 role models, 99, 102 summer jobs, 56, 77, 103 token Negro era, 41 Williamson, Thomas, Jr. – Professional, 14-15, 20, 24, 28, 30-31, 34, 36, 37, 60, 62, 129 California Rural Legal Assistance, 100-02 Caplan, Livingston, Goodwin, Berkowitz, and Selden, 104 Covington & Burling (formerly Covington & Wilmer), 1, 42, 114, 126-27, 136, 146, 151-53, 155, 157, 159, 168-70, 172, 177-78, 180-81, 184, 189-90 Neighborhood Legal Services, 127 pro bono work, 103, 124, 125, 126, 128, 171 Chair, Pro Bono Committee, 171 D.C. Bar President, 166 entertainment law, 104-05, 116 intellectually not interesting, 105 lack of respect for black lawyers, 108 Family and Medical Leave Act, 166 Holiday Spa Health Club, 126 ICFMR (Intermediate-Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded, 132 Neighborhood Legal Services, 128, 135, 152, 153 Peddally Everson Martin, 103 philosophy hiring, 155 losing cases, 127, 134 ro bono work, 115, 139, 140, 141, 143, 190 self description as a lawyer, 139 A-8 specialty defending against federal efforts to take funding away from states, 173 United States Department of Energy involvement of women and minorities, 149 Deputy Inspector General, 143, 144-47, 150 United States Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, 163 reinvention projects, 169 Solicitor, 161, 179 Williamson, Thomas Sr. (father), 1-7, 9-11, 12, 18, 24, 26, 29, 31, 33, 43, 78 Morgan State University, 3, 16, 78 United States Army assignments, 4, 5, 6, 26 occupation of Japan, 4 Williamson, Winifred Hall (mother), 1, 4-7, 9, 10-11, 16, 24-25, 31, 33, 37-40, 76 challenges raising children, 10 college decision influence, 37-40 Japan, 4 Wilmer Cutler (WilmerHale), 126, 170 World War II, 4, 12 written and unwritten racial laws, 12
