By: Doug Bell

He was blind in one eye. He was held back in school. He was black, born into a segregated and often prejudiced society. George Williams' start in life was hardly ideal. But to hear him tell it, overcoming the challenges he faced was half the fun of the journey.

Williams was born and raised in Florence, where his father worked as a hotel chef and his mother was a nurse. At age 11, he went to work for the Aikens family, who profoundly influenced his development. They introduced him to literature, giving him books like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. They invited him to accompany them to Mass at the Catholic church, to picnics on Black Creek and on vacation trips to Georgia. In time he came to be considered a member of the family.

"They treated me, talked to me, as an equal," said Williams. "They were go-getters, and I developed that attitude, too."

Before he finished high school, he decided he wanted to be a lawyer-even though his father held the profession in low esteem and urged him to become a Baptist minister instead. A little later, the elder Williams was doubly undone by his teenage son's decision to convert to Catholicism.

George Williams (left), was president of the senior class at Wilson High School in Florence the year that a 12th grade was added to the school year.

At 14, Williams lost the sight in his right eye in a B-B gun accident. The incident caused him to be held back a year in school, which prevented him from graduating on time. Not only was he disappointed not to be graduating with his friends, but the timing was unfortunate, with a 12th year about to be added at all public high schools in the state. His classmates, however, elected him president of the inaugural 12th-grade class at Wilson High School, his first official leadership position. "Everybody told me, "George, you've had more education than the rest of us."

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