Armstrong Williams

executive; columnist; radio host; writer

Personal Information

Born on February 5, 1959, in Marion, SC; son of Thelma Williams and James Williams (a farmer).
Education: South Carolina State College, B.A., with honors, 1981.
Religion: Pentecostal.
Memberships:
(Selected): Dupree Construction, board of advisors, 1981-; Complex Association, board of directors, 1982-; Child-Help USA, advisory board, 1982-; Travis Winkey Fashion Magazine, chairman, board of directors, 1982-; Smooth as Silk Enterprises, consultant marketer, 1984-.

Career

Office of Senator Strom Thurmond, legislative aide, 1980-1981; Office of Congressman Carroll Campbell, legislative aide, 1981; Office of Congressman Floyd Spence, legislative aide, 1981; U.S. Department of Agriculture, legislative assistant, 1981-1983; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, confidential assistant to chairman, 1983; Los Angeles Times Syndicate, syndicated columnist, currently; The Right Side, syndicated radio talk show host, currently; syndicated television talk show host, currently; B&C Associates; Graham Williams Group, CEO, currently.

Life's Work

Armstrong Williams is known for his conservative views and leads the trend of African-American conservatism. The Washington Post has called him one of "the most recognized conservative voices in America." He has made his views clear on his talk-radio and television shows, and in his syndicated column and magazine articles, including his opinions on the behavior of former president Bill Clinton. Listeners, while they might not always agree with his strong opinions, know where he stands on issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and welfare. He will cite his upbringing on a farm by staunch Republican parents when he rails against affirmative action and social programs that cause dependency for African Americans, believing that " ... people should rise and fall on their own merit," he told Insight on the News. While Williams finds that African Americans are receptive to his conservative message, there is a split when it comes to moral issues and affirmative action. But Williams is not bothered by the black community's differences of opinion. "They don't necessarily agree with me, but they understand the honesty and the sincerity [of my message]," he told Insight on the News. Williams gets his message across loud and clear, and often. His radio talk show, The Right Side, and his television show of the same name have made him the first conservative to appear on a regular basis on America's Black Forum syndicated TV show. He provides commentary for other black television networks, and is author of a syndicated newspaper column appearing in the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, and the Amsterdam News. He is author of a book, and has been a guest on CNN, Fox News Channel, ABC, CBS, C-Span, and CNBC.

Began Career in Washington

One of ten children, Armstrong Williams was born to James and Thelma Williams on February 5, 1959 in Marion, South Carolina, a farming community. The family owned a 200-acre tobacco and swine farm, with 30 of those acres in tobacco, acreage in small grain, and about 2,000 heads of swine. But the young Williams did not want to follow in his father's footsteps. "I hated it. That's hard, physical labor. I knew if I stayed on that farm it would have killed me," he told Insight on the News. He and his nine brothers and sisters were expected to do their share of the hard work on the farm, and in later praise he said he learned his work ethic, discipline, routine, and family values from his parents. Religion was an integral part of the Williams home, but the Williams family did not all worship at the same church. Mr. Williams was an African Methodist Episcopalian and nine of the children chose to worship with their father; Mrs. Williams belonged to the Pentecostal Church and Armstrong attended with her. Williams and his siblings were required to go to church on Sunday even if they were sick. His religion greatly influenced his life and work, as he told Insight on the News: "I get my fire and brimstone and energy from that Pentecostal Church. It's in me--that enthusiasm, that zest for life, that love for the Lord; I get it from there." His family life and teachings influenced all aspects of his life. "Our parents taught us love and forgiveness and how to move beyond and to believe in God," he continued. Williams cites the Bible as favorite reading.

Williams attended South Carolina State College, majoring in English and political science. He was president of the student body for two consecutive terms. In 1980 he worked for one year in the office of Senator Strom Thurmond, serving as legislative aide. He formed a close relationship with the senator and Williams would later refer to Thurmond as his mentor and leader. He graduated in 1981 with honors, and was the first in his family to graduate from college. He worked as a legislative aide to Congressman Carroll Campbell in 1981 and also for Congressman Floyd Spence, a Republican from South Carolina. From there he went to work as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, serving from 1981 to 1983. The next year, he worked in the office of Clarence Thomas, serving as his confidential assistant. Thomas, at the time, was chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and went on to become a Supreme Court justice.

After his work for Thomas, Williams began working at B & C Associates, a black-owned public relations firm. After four years, he and Stedman Graham, whom he'd met at B&C, formed the Graham Williams Group in Washington, an international public relations firm. Two high-profile clients were USAir and real estate firm Century 21. Graham later sold his half to Williams to pursue other interests, and Williams became chief executive officer of the firm.

Williams also began a journalistic career. His newspaper column about values first appeared in The Marion Star/Mullins Enterprise. The column was picked up by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and was distributed to over 50 newspapers nationally.

Became Involved in Radio

In 1992 Williams began his The Right Side nightly syndicated radio talk show on WOL-AM in Washington, D.C. The show moved a short time later to WAVA-FM, a Christian-format station owned by the Salem Radio Network. By 1995 it was heard on 40 radio stations throughout the country. In July of 1994, he joined the Talk America Network. He aired his opinions frequently and loudly about his personal views of the ills of society--abortion, premarital sex, adultery, homosexual marriages, and racism, whether it is white against black or black against white--garnering lively debates in the show's call-in format. Williams later expanded his message to television, also calling the talk show "The Right Side," and featuring interviews with a variety of people in all walks of life, including industry specialists and Washington insiders. The show airs weekly on Friday nights. In 1998 he began two weekly shows on America Online, and also appears on the Heritage Foundation web site, "Town Hall."

Williams' book, Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed By Breaking the Dependency Barrier, was published in 1995; it explores black culture and its fostering of victimization. Written in letter style, Williams writes a letter in each chapter to a black conservative 29-year-old man, named Brad, who is in prison for hustling and who is trying to turn his life around. Williams' compassionate and provocative letters argue that personal responsibility rather than the helping hand of the government is what is needed for blacks like Brad. The book was issued in paperback in October of 1996 under the title Letters to a Young Victim: Hope and Healing in American's Inner Cities. When he's not busy running his public relations firm, writing his column, hosting his radio and television shows, Williams also is a noted speaker at various events and conferences.

Coming from a three-generation conservative Republican family certainly influenced Williams in his own conduct of life. He was quoted as saying in a Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service story, "My conservatism was taught me by my parents. It is rooted in the Ten Commandments of the Bible." He does not smoke, drink alcohol, use profane language, and does not believe in premarital sex. He has stated that he is married to his profession but that one day, perhaps when he reached his forties, he would start looking for a wife. He believes most Americans share traditional moral values, and he lives accordingly. And his listeners, his fans, and his opponents, will always know where he stands, as he told Insight on the News. "I'm not ever going to tell people what they want to hear just to get along with them. And I'm not ever going to compromise what I believe in for a job or money. I'll crawl first."

Awards

Selected Awards: Bicentennial Speaking Award, 1976; ROTC Sojourner Award, 1978; Youth of the Year, Congressional Black Caucus, 1982-1983; Liberal Arts Howard University School of Liberal Arts, 1983-1984; One of 30 Most Influential Young Blacks in America Under 30, March 1985; Phil Donahue Show, "America's Top Black Conservatives."

Further Reading

Books

• Who's Who Among African Americans, 12th Edition, Gale Group, 1999.

• Insight on the News, March 29, 1995, p. 15; May 29, 1995, p. 37; April 6, 1998, p. 21.
• Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, June 12, 1995.
• Online
• http://clemsonews.clemson.edu/WWW_releases/1998/Novemb.../Syndicated_Columnist_.htm.
• http://www.fac.org/publicat/fairness/armstng.htm.
• http://www.lats.com/lats/what/whatcol/text/williams.htm.
• http://www.novatrain.com.
• http://townhall.com.

— Sandy J. Stiefer

Armstrong Williams
Armstrong Williams
Born	February 5, 1959 (1959-02-05) (age 50) Marion, South Carolina
Occupation	TV host, radio host, columnist, political activist
Religious beliefs	Christian

Armstrong Williams (born February 5, 1959) is an African American political commentator who writes a conservative newspaper column, hosts a nationally syndicated TV program called The Right Side, and hosts a daily radio show from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.^[1] From 2004 to 2007, he co-hosted a daily radio program with Sam Greenfield, broadcast on WWRL 1600 in New York City.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Personal 2 Career 2.1 "No Child Left Behind" controversy 3 Other business interests 4 See also 5 Books by Williams 6 References 7 External links

Personal

A native of Marion, South Carolina, Williams was reared on the family’s tobacco farm with nine other siblings. He displayed an early gift for public speaking, winning a high school orating contest in 1976. Graduating in 1981 from South Carolina State University, he received his B.A. in Political Science and English. He is a life member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Williams, who has never married, often mentions his celibacy.^[2][3]

In 1997, Williams was sued for sexual harrassment by Stephen Gregory, a former YMCA personal trainer whom Williams repeatedly promoted, eventually to executive producer of his show The Right Side.^[4][5][6] The case was settled out of court.^[7] In his book Blinded by the Right, journalist David Brock claimed that Williams made a pass at him in Williams' apartment.^[7]

Career

An entrepreneur and third-generation Republican, Armstrong Williams was formerly vice president for governmental and international affairs public relations firm, B&C Associations. He also served as confidential assistant to the Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas), presidential appointee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, legislative assistant to the U.S. Representative Carrol Campbell (former governor of South Carolina) and legislative aide and advisor to U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond.

In 1991, Williams began his radio career at WOL Radio, 1450 AM, in Washington, D.C. In 1995, Williams' local show was syndicated by The Talk America Radio Network. In 1998 Williams united with The Salem Radio Network which syndicated his national radio show to 26 of the top radio markets in the country. In 2002, he reunited with the Newark, New Jersey-based Talk America Radio Network.

From 2002 to 2005 Williams hosted On Point with Armstrong Williams, a monthly primetime television special that aired on cable network TV One. A joint venture among Comcast, Radio One, and Right Side Production, On Point with Armstrong Williams included guests such as former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In 2003 he launched his own company, The Right Side Productions, which produces and syndicates his television program to media outlets including Sky Angel, The Liberty Channel, etc. jointly with Langer Broadcast Radio Network.^[8]

In 2004, Williams was appointed by President George W. Bush to the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. The Commission's responsibility is to select qualified candidates to serve as Fellows to Cabinet-rank offices.^{[citation needed]} Past fellows have included Cheney, Powell and Labor Secretary Elaine Chao. Williams has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and NPR as a guest commentator. He joined the lineup at WWRL 1600 A.M.'s "New York's Urban Talk" in March 2005 as co-host with Sam Greenfield on Drive Time Dialogue.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Williams began hosting a conservative talk show on XM Satellite Radio.

Williams is a National Board member of the Carson Scholars Fund, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit charity that was founded in 1994 by Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson to recognize and reward students in grades 4-11 who strive for academic excellence (3.75 GPA or higher) and demonstrate a strong commitment to their community.^{[citation needed]}

"No Child Left Behind" controversy

In January 2005, USA Today reported that documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that Williams had been paid $240,000 to promote the controversial No Child Left Behind Act. USA Today claimed Williams was hired "to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same". ^[9]

As part of the agreement, Williams was required "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004".^[10] The contract with Williams was part of a $1 million contract between the U.S. Department of Education and the public relations company, Ketchum Inc.

Melanie Sloan from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington told USA Today that the contract may be illegal "because Congress has prohibited propaganda ... [A]nd it's propaganda". United States Representative George Miller (D-CA), a member of the House Education Committee, called the contract "a very questionable use of taxpayers' money" that is "probably illegal". ^[11] Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was founded in 2001 by Melanie Sloan, a former aide to Representative John Conyers and Senator Chuck Schumer.

After the USA Today revelations, Tribune Media Services terminated its syndication agreement with Williams. In a statement to Editor & Publisher (not available on its website), TMS stated: "[A]ccepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party".^[12] Williams told the Associated Press "even though I'm not a journalist — I'm a commentator — I feel I should be held to the media ethics standard. My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again, and I learned from it."^[13]

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said it was a matter for the Education Department. According to Associated Press the Department of Education stated that the deal was a "permissible use of taxpayer funds under legal government contracting procedures".^[13] McClellan remained noncommittal on whether White House staff knew of the deal with Williams. "I'm not sure that senior staff was consulted before this decision was made. I haven't heard anything to that effect", he said. ^[14] Three days after the story broke, McClellan claimed he was unaware of the details of the contract and that specific questions should be directed to the Education Department. As to whether Williams should have disclosed the details of the contract in his columns and on-air appearances, McClellan would only concede that "those are all legitimate questions". Asked whether he would investigate whether other journalists were on the payroll of the administration, McClellan replied, "I'm not aware of any others that are under contract other than the one that's been reported on in the media."^{[citation needed]}

Following the revelations of the Williams contract with Ketchum, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington announced that it had filed Freedom of Information requests with 22 agencies requesting copies of all contracts with public relation firms. ^[15]

The USA Today revelations caused controversy within the PR industry as well. As soon as the story broke, Edelman Public Relations' CEO Richard Edelman posted a note on his personal blog criticizing Ketchum's deal with Williams. "This kind of pay for play public relations takes us back in time to the days of the press agent who would drop off the new record album and $10 to the deejay. It makes our industry's efforts to 'clean up' behavior in newly created PR markets such as China and Russia look decidedly ridiculous", he wrote.^[16] The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) issued a statement saying "the relationship should have been disclosed up front, no question".^[17]

On January 26, 2005 a similar arrangement surfaced between Maggie Gallagher and the Department of Health and Human Services involving her paid support of the Bush administration's "healthy marriage" initiative, which she did not disclose. On January 28, 2005 it was revealed that Michael McManus, a syndicated columnist who writes Ethics & Religion, was paid up to $10,000 to support the administration's marriage initiative to divert funds from welfare to marital counselling, which he did not disclose.^[18]

On September 30, 2005, the Government Accountability Office released a report concluding that the payments to Williams were illegal on the part of the Department of Education because the government's role in the public relations effort was not disclosed. ^[19]

To date, Mr. Williams has still not yet returned the money to the US Treasury

Other business interests

Williams is also the CEO of the Graham Williams Group, which is described as an "international public relations firm with clients in entertainment, politics, business and charitable organizations". ^[20]

See also

• Bush administration payment of columnists

Books by Williams

• Armstrong Williams, Letters to a young victim: Hope and Healing in America's Inner Cities, Scribner Paper Fiction, October 1996. ISBN 0-684-82466-3
• Armstrong Williams, Beyond Blame: How We Can Succeed by Breaking the Dependency Barrier, Free Press, May 1995. ISBN 0-02-935365-3

References

1. ^ http://www.xmradio.com/onxm/channelbio.xmc?ch=169
2. ^ He Said/He Said, John Cloud, Washington City Paper, Jun. 13 - 19, 1997.
3. ^ Mr. Righteous, David Plotz, Washington City Paper, Feb. 10 - 16, 1995.
4. ^ A LOTT OF IRONY FOR TRENT INTERVIEWER, New York Magazine, Deborah Mitchell & Beth Landman, June 29-July 6, 1998.
5. ^ Out of Order; How same-sex harassers beat the rap, Joseph Landau, The New Republic, May 5, 1997.
6. ^ Lott Interviewer Faces Sex Harass Suit; Ex-employee claims gay advances, Carolyn Lochhead, San Francisco Chronicle, June 18, 1998.
7. ^ ^{a b} $5000 An Idea, Full-Service Maggie Gallagher, now available for outcalls in D.C. area, New York Press, February 8, 2005
8. ^ Armstrong Williams.com
9. ^ USA Today coverage
10. ^ UsaToday report on Williams
11. ^ USA Today report on Williams
12. ^ Editor and Publisher
13. ^ ^{a b} http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/politics/2982711
14. ^ White House release
15. ^ US Newswire release
16. ^ Edelman Public Relations
17. ^ Public Relations Society of America
18. ^ Michael McManus controversy
19. ^ CNN coverage
20. ^ TMS Features

External links

• Williams's website

This article uses content from the SourceWatch article on Armstrong Williams under the terms of the GFDL.

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