Joseph Williams was born in Greensboro, NC in 1945. He grew up in Greensboro and in Jakarta, Indonesia, where his father worked as an engineer. During his youth Joseph travelled to other 30 countries. His came from a highly educated family that included many teachers. While in high school Joseph became involved with the civil rights movement and marched with Jesse Jackson and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the struggles for the integration of Greensboro. He was arrested along with thousands of other high school and college students (including Willena Cannon, another interviewee.) Mr. Williams attended North Carolina A & T University in Greensboro and subsequently got his law degree at North Carolina Central University. He opened one of the first African-American law firms in Greensboro, and became involved with multiple cases involving racism and discrimination, ultimately becoming one of the first African-American judges in North Carolina. Among other accomplishments he helped set up one of the first diversion programs for first-time offenders in the state, and worked successfully to stop school resource officers from brutalizing high school students. He can look back at over 50 years of activism!