“One of the things they really stressed to us was the need to be engaged, but also the need to be exposed,” said Williams, who is now an associate professor at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. “That was something I thought really benefitted us growing up, because we grew up during a time that was different. Segregation was no longer legal, but it was practiced. You went to schools together, but you still had a disengagement.
“My parents were intentional about getting us exposed to and engaged with others who were different – so we could learn from them and they could learn from us, and we could find a way to start building bridges.”
Today, Williams’ work revolves around that exact concept.
In memory of his parents, who were lifelong educators, Williams oversees the Morris E. and Frances G. Williams Community Engagement Student Assistance Fund. The goal of the fund is to encourage student-led engagement efforts within Batten.
Williams’ younger brother, Rodd, provided the initial seed money for a similar fund in 2006 while Brian Williams was working at the University of Georgia. Since then, the brothers have added to the fund at UGA every year.
“My parents were intentional about getting us exposed to and engaged with others who were different – so we could learn from them and they could learn from us, and we could find a way to start building bridges.”
- Brian N. Williams
Williams, who joined the UVA faculty in the fall, witnessed the violent August 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville from afar and believed he could make a difference.
“I thought [the fund] would be a good way to encourage and bring together people from across Grounds and the community to engage in just some basic stuff – ‘How do we get to know each other and kind of humanize each other?’” he said. “How do we come to appreciate the different lived experiences that others have had that shaped their prism in how they view the world?”
To that end, students in Williams’ Batten course, “The Current State of Police-Community Relations: Problems and Prospects,” hosted the inaugural Central Virginia Learning Exchange in December. The event brought together a select group of law enforcement officers, local government officials, UVA students and Central Virginia residents.
Seated at round tables, participants engaged in back-and-forth discussions about what a healthy relationship and productive partnership between the public and police officers looks like.
One community member said he was being “ostracized” by his neighbors for trusting local enforcement.
Charlottesville Police Sgt. Robert Haney responded by encouraging the community member to engage in deeper discussions with the neighbors.