Leslie A. Williams was a tap dancer, a dance studio owner and a successful lawyer, but he helped make history by breaking the military color barrier as a member of the renowned Tuskegee Airmen. This elite group of men was the first African-American bomber pilot squad in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Williams, '49, JD '74, died on March 30 at his home in Patterson, Calif., of natural causes. He was 95.
A California native, Williams grew up in San Mateo and was drafted into the Army in 1939. After training for nine months at Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama, he earned his wings in 1943, at a point when the American military was racially segregated. Recalled Williams during a 2008 interview with KTEH-TV in San Jose, "In those days, no one had to salute blacks, but we could be court-martialed if we didn't salute a white officer." By the time the all African-American cockpit crew had been trained and was ready for combat, the war was over.
A skilled tap dancer who performed with his fellow quartermasters in an Army dance troupe, Williams went on to run a dance studio in San Mateo and earned his bachelor's degree in history from Stanford in 1949 while he and his wife raised a family. According to his daughter Penny, '69, MA '76, with whom he co-authored a book, Victory: Tales of a Tuskegee Airman, Williams had planned to pursue a law degree at Stanford but was denied admission to the Law School because of racial discrimination. She believes he was denied employment with commercial airlines for similar reasons even though he was fully licensed by the FAA. He then opened his dance studio, which became very successful, and, decades later, after affirmative-action programs had been instituted at Stanford, Williams enrolled at the Law School in his 50s and practiced into his 80s.
Williams was present at the U.S. Capitol in 2007 when President George W. Bush presented members of the Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal. He was also an honored guest at President Obama's 2008 inauguration. Says his daughter, "My father was an extraordinary man and led an exemplary life. He taught me fairness, honesty, integrity, community, spirit and grace. He reinvented himself several times in his lifetime and was a constant source of inspiration."
Williams is survived by his wife, Elsie; daughters, Penny and Paula; two grandsons; and two great-grandchildren.
Julie Muller Mitchell, '79, is a writer in San Francisco.
