Changing Faces of St Marylebone

Williams was a lawyer, born in Trinidad and educated in the United States and Canada before moving to Britain. In 1897 he founded the African Association to “promote and protect the interests of all subjects claiming African descent, wholly or in part, in British colonies and other place, especially Africa, by circulating accurate information on all subjects affecting their rights and privileges as subjects of the British Empire, by direct appeals to the Imperial and local Governments.”

In 1900 Williams organised the first Pan-African Conference in Britain. He then went to Southern Africa to practise as a barrister, becoming the first black man to be called to the bar in the Cape Colony. On returning to London, feeling that there should be an African spokesman in Parliament, Williams decided to run. He wasn’t successful but instead became involved in municipal politics and was elected as a Progressive (a party aligned to the Liberals) on Marylebone Borough Council in 1906.

Williams was a trail-blazer: he was the first person of African descent to speak in the House of Commons, the first black councillor on St Marylebone Borough Council and one of the first black councillors in the whole of London.