Washington University of St. Louis debuted a portrait of Dr. Robert L. Williams, founding director of the Department of African and African American Studies, on April 15, 2022.
“He challenged and encouraged young people to explore what it means to be Black in America, think critically about privilege, and create social change,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.
It is the first portrait to feature a subject adorned with African accessory, a Kente cloth stole.
The painting features the colors red, yellow, and green prominently, representing Black unity.
“Dr. Williams overcame the poverty and racism of his youth to become an educated Black professional and become a race man dedicated to Black Power and Black Consciousness,” said African American Studies Professor Gerald Early.
Among the more than 200 people attending the event or viewing online, two of Williams’ children, Y’vonne Williams Johnson and California State East Bay Dean Robert A. Williams spoke at the gathering.
The 44 by 48 inches painting was created by Jamie Adams, a Wash U. associate professor and painting Area Coordinator. He said the portrait took six months to form and he finalized the piece’s concept in November 2020 with Early and the Black Studies Department. It took about a year to complete.
“He will bless the halls of this university.” said Shanti Parikh, African and African American Studies chair. “When I look at this portrait, it is a challenge that Black studies are the stewards of our history and the dedication of our founding director.”
Growing up in Arkansas, Early said it was not easy for Williams. He shared that Williams’ parents did not have a formal education.
During his career, Williams would highlight a moment during high school when he received an IQ test result of 82. His school counselor said he was not mentally equipped for higher education.
Despite the discouraging aptitude, he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1953 and eventually his doctorate in clinical psychology in 1961.
“I lost my confidence for a long time,” Williams said in a 1981 interview.
He became the first Black person hired as a staff psychologist at Arkansas State Hospital in 1955.
“He challenged and encouraged young people to explore what it means to be Black in America, think critically about privilege, and create social change,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.
Williams broke several racial barriers, and he became an Arkansas Black Hall of Fame inductee in 2011.
“Black Studies was born in the days of high protest,” Williams said during his time as chair of the Department of African and African American Studies.
He co-founded the department in 1969 and became the director the following year.
“His brilliance dramatically altered the history of our university,” Martin said.
In 1972, Williams made national headlines for calling out inherent cultural biases in standardized testing. Seizing the moment, the following year, he organized a national conference on “The Cognitive and Language Development of Black Children” in St. Louis.
In response to his stance on standardized testing, he created the 100-question Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity— an examination to demonstrate intelligence tests showing racial and cultural biases through the higher performance of Black Americans with the related contexts presented and the white test-takers, performed worse for said contexts.
In 1973, he coined the term ‘Ebonics’ [English often spoken by African Americans or African American Vernacular]. His work on Ebonics and Black intelligence was a theme for an episode of the popular 1970’s show Good Times titled “The IQ Test.”
The Williams portrait brings the number of campus paintings featuring Black people to three.
“To be a living memorial, not to think of what he was, but what he claimed to be,” The Rev. Douglass Petty said.
Black people account for 2 percent of the paintings hanging at the university, according to Parikh. She said she hopes this painting will travel around the university, being hung in different places for certain periods. The portrait will currently be hung in the Department for Black Studies Faculty office.
“Doing the work we do that Dr. Williams did is real,” Parikh said. “The work is radical because the truth is radical, and it makes the world a better place.”
“He is not physically here anymore, but that does not mean he is not here,” Petty said. “He has spoken life into many.”
