Research Catalog

Title

W. Hazaiah Williams papers, 1952-1998.

Author

Williams, W. Hazaiah, 1930-1999.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

7.4 linear feet (7 record cartons, 1 archival box)

Summary

• The W. Hazaiah Williams Papers, 1952-1998, are arranged in three series: Personal Papers, Ministry, and Other Professional Activities. The Personal papers for the most part consist of miscellaneous material and some papers related to his degree work at the Boston University School of Theology. The Ministry series contains documentation related to South Berkeley Community Church, where he was ordained and served as the co-pastor. The Church for Today is also represented with order of service programs, 1954-1997 (bulk 1957-1961) and sermons, 1960-1998, which form the largest part of the collection, and a few letters from parishioners.
• The Other Professional Activities series contains speeches and lectures, some files from his tenure with the Berkeley Board of Education, the Center for Urban-Black Studies, and his consultancies and membership in professional organizations.
• The Center For Urban-Black Studies files, which are the second largest section of the collection, appear to be part of Williams' personal files and include information on the Odyssey Festival, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Lecture Series. There is also correspondence, course and programmatic information, and a few student files (containing papers, notes, letters). The Organization and Consultancies files include small files for the East Bay Conference on Race and Religion and the Institute for Ministry Development.

Subjects

• African American churches
• African American clergy
• Black author
• Church for Today (Berkeley, Calif.)
• Graduate Theological Union > Center for Urban-Black Studies
• Alamo Black Clergy (East Bay, Calif.)
• Berkeley (Calif.) > Church history
• African American churches > California > Berkeley
• African American Christian educators > California > Berkeley
• African Americans > Civil rights
• Sermons, American
• African American preaching
• Community churches > California > Berkeley
• South Berkeley Community Church (Berkeley, Calif.)
• Independent churches > California > Berkeley
• Sermons
• African Americans > Social conditions
• Christian sects > California > Berkeley
• African American leadership
• Speeches
• African American educators
• African Americans > Religion
• Williams, W. Hazaiah, 1930-1999
• African American clergy > California > Berkeley

Genre/Form

• Sermons.
• Speeches.

Note

• Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
• Books and magazines transferred to General Research and Reference Division.

Source (note)

• Estate

Biography (note)

• William Hazaiah Williams, Jr. was an African-American minister and educator. He received a Master of Theology from Boston University, and moved to California in the mid-50s to accept a position at the South Berkeley Community Church, where he was ordained. In 1956, Williams founded the Church For Today, an interdenominational community church in Berkeley, where he was the pastor until his death. In 1969, he formed the Center For Urban-Black Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, also in Berkeley, where he was a professor for 20 years. Concentrating on liberation theology, Williams created and taught theology courses at the Center.
• During the 1970s, Williams founded the Alamo Black Clergy, a San Francisco East Bay consortium of ministers of various denominations, and served as executive director of the East Bay Conference on Race, Religion and Social Justice. He was also a commentator on "Dialogue," a radio program on KPFA-FM, where he dealt with social issues relevant to the community. His community work included 8 years of service on the Berkeley Board of Education, 1967 to 1974, during the period in which the Berkeley schools were integrated.
• W. Hazaiah Williams was also the first major African-American presenter of classical music in the United States. He was dedicated to the racial and cultural integration and expansion of the classical music audience and of the concert stage; was founder and director for 35 years of the major recital series, Today's Artists Concerts. Dr. Williams presented a series of concerts in New York's Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall. In 1993, he created Four Seasons Concerts, for which he served as President and Artistic Director until his death.

Call Number

Sc MG 760

OCLC

905373655

Author

Williams, W. Hazaiah, 1930-1999.

Title

W. Hazaiah Williams papers, 1952-1998.

Biography

William Hazaiah Williams, Jr. was an African-American minister and educator. He received a Master of Theology from Boston University, and moved to California in the mid-50s to accept a position at the South Berkeley Community Church, where he was ordained. In 1956, Williams founded the Church For Today, an interdenominational community church in Berkeley, where he was the pastor until his death. In 1969, he formed the Center For Urban-Black Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, also in Berkeley, where he was a professor for 20 years. Concentrating on liberation theology, Williams created and taught theology courses at the Center.

During the 1970s, Williams founded the Alamo Black Clergy, a San Francisco East Bay consortium of ministers of various denominations, and served as executive director of the East Bay Conference on Race, Religion and Social Justice. He was also a commentator on "Dialogue," a radio program on KPFA-FM, where he dealt with social issues relevant to the community. His community work included 8 years of service on the Berkeley Board of Education, 1967 to 1974, during the period in which the Berkeley schools were integrated.

W. Hazaiah Williams was also the first major African-American presenter of classical music in the United States. He was dedicated to the racial and cultural integration and expansion of the classical music audience and of the concert stage; was founder and director for 35 years of the major recital series, Today's Artists Concerts. Dr. Williams presented a series of concerts in New York's Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall. In 1993, he created Four Seasons Concerts, for which he served as President and Artistic Director until his death.

Source

Estate Gift January 2006 SCM 06-5

Connect to:

Finding Aid

Local Subject

Black author.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 760