"Chancellor James Williams."(December 22,1898-Decemb 7,1992)

Was an  African American sociologist,historian,and writer.He was the author of the Destruction of Black Civilization (1971).Chancellor was born in Bennettsville,South Carolina,as the last of five children;his daddy was a former slave,while his mama was a cook,nurse and an evangelist.His innate curiosity concerning the realities of racial inequality cultural struggles,particularly those that which involved African Americans began as early as his fifth-grade year.Years later,he quoted in an early interview as saying:"I was very sensitive about the position of black people in the town...I wanted to know how you explain this great difference.How it is that we were in such low circumstances as compared to the whites? And when they answered 'slavery as the explanation,then i wanted to know where we come from?He moved with his family to Washington,DC in the early 20th century.His first wife,Dorothy Ann Williams,died in 1925,leaving him a widower with five children.Chancellor earned an undergraduate degree Foundation in 1930 followed by a Master of Arts Degree in History in 1935,broth from Howard University.After completing a doctoral dissertation on the socioeconomic significance of the storefront church movement in the United States since 1920,he was awarded a Ph.D.In history and sociology by American University in 1949.He began his studies abroad as a visiting professor to the universities of Oxford & London in England in 1953& 1956,he did field research in Africa history at Ghana's University College.At that time,his main focus was on African achievements and self-ruling civilizations which existed long before coming of Europeans or Asians.His last study,completed in 1964,covered 26 countries and more than 100 language groupings.In 1935 Chancellor took the post of Administrative for the Cheltenham School for Boys in Maryland four years later he became a teacher in the Washington,DC public schools.He entered the employment of the U.S. Federal Government in 1941,filling a variety of positions such as section chief  of  Census Bureau,statistician for the War Relocation Board and,economist in the Office of Price Administration.In 1946 he returned to his Alma mater as a social science instructor until 1952.It was then that he transferred to the history department,where he remained until he retired in 1966.In 1971,Chancellor sent his magnum opus The Destruction of Black Civilization to Kendall Hunt,a white-owned publishing company,for publication and distribution.The following year,the book received an award from the Black Academy of Letters and Arts.Encouraged by the award,he worked for years to expand and revise the book before publishing a second edition.Feeling more comfortable with an African American-owned firm as his publisher,he sent the second version to Chicago's noted Third World Press.When publisher in 1987,the second edition of the book received wide critical acclaim from the African American community.The book however was seen as Pseudohistory Afrocentrism by most mainstream reviewers.In 1979,the 21st Century Foundation honored Chancellor with its first Clarence L.Holte international Biennial Prize.He died of respiratory failure at Provident Hospital in Washington,D.C..He had been a resident of the Washington Center for Aging Services for several years.He was survived by his wife of 65 years.Mattie Williams of Washington,and 14 children;36 grandchildren;38 great-grandchildren;and 10 great-great-grandchildren.