Ronald Williams II

Biography

Ronald Williams II is assistant professor of African, African American, and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Before joining the faculty at Carolina, Ronald was a lecturer here in the Department of African American Studies, where he taught African American politics, race and public policy, and college writing. Grounded in a curiosity about the interplay between race and politics, Ronald’s research interests include African American politics and political thought, race and public policy, African Diaspora politics, race and U.S. foreign relations, and Twentieth Century African American history. He is currently working on two projects. First is a history of the African American foreign policy advocacy organization, TransAfrica, tentatively titled “Black Embassy, TransAfrica and the Making of Adversarial Diplomacy.” Second is an edited volume containing the collected writings of the late C. Diane Howell (1950-2008), editor and publisher of the Oakland-based newspaper, Black Business Listings and longtime producer of the Oakland Black Expo. From 2009-2013, Ronald worked as a consultant to the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), where he was a part of the District’s fiscal recovery efforts in the years immediately following its emergence from state receivership. He earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies in 2011.