Walter E. Williams was a Distinguished Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He was also the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics at George Mason University and held a BA degree in economics from California State University and MA and PhD degrees in economics from UCLA. In addition, he held a Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Virginia Union University.
He served on the faculties of Los Angeles City College, California State University at Los Angeles, and Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Williams authored over 150 publications which appeared in scholarly journals such as Economic Inquiry, American Economic Review, Georgia Law Review, Journal of Labor Economics, Social Science Quarterly, and Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy and popular publications such as Newsweek, Ideas on Liberty, National Review, Reader’s Digest, Cato Journal, and Policy Review.
He authored ten books including The State Against Blacks, which was made into a television documentary entitled, “Good Intentions.” His 2010 autobiography, Up from the Projects: An Autobiography, served as the basis for a 2014 PBS documentary, “Suffer No Fools.” In addition to his books and academic works, Dr. Williams wrote a nationally syndicated weekly column that was carried by approximately 140 newspapers and several web sites.
The Northwood Idea is vibrant and adaptive in a world of change, and its fundamental principles are timeless. Under any circumstances, personal freedom and individual responsibility are essential for a free society. So it is illustrative to examine some of the most compelling expressions of The Northwood Idea that great thinkers have contributed through the...