Professor of history one of the greats

As a professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Dr. L.T. Williams had a way of making history multidimensional.

He gave history meaning for the present-day world. As a student pursuing my degree at UALR, I recognized his teaching talents early on. Initially, I took his course in U.S. history up to the Civil War and loved it so much that the next semester I jumped straight into his second U.S. history overview, from the Civil War to the present day, then I delved into both of his Black history classes, and another on the history of America’s workforce. By the time I had earned my bachelor’s degree, with a major in history, about half of my history credits were under Professor Williams’ instruction.

I was always curious about the man and his perspective on our nation’s history. An African American who had served three tours of duty in the Vietnam War, he returned stateside and earned his doctorate up North before embarking on his academic career in the South.

I looked up to him as an authority on life and U.S. history, in large part because of how he could turn the people and events of yesteryear into insights into who and what we are today.

I also saw him as moderately conservative in many of his views, and sometimes I was his liberal counterpart in classroom discussions. His lectures were anything but rote, he encouraged questions and discussion, and since I wasn’t shy about speaking up, he’d challenge my liberal naivete.

I loved having such intellectual exchanges with such a brilliant mind, so much so that I’d often tag along as he walked from our classroom to his office. He gave me more of his time than I deserved, but he seemed to enjoy my hunger to learn, and he pushed me to broaden my perspective.

Two lessons in particular stand out in my memory of coursework under Williams.

First is what I’ll call his multidimensional narrative. He wove American history out of many threads — socioeconomic, racial, political, cultural and more — all necessary for a more complete interpretation of our history.

The second is the notion that when this nation’s founders declared that “all men are created equal” they advanced an ideal that ultimately turned us into who we are today. At first, the idea of human equality was exclusive; this nation’s founders only gave their “unalienable rights” to themselves, as white males who owned property. But that didn’t last, because the ideal behind those words outgrew their initial application.

History, it’s been said, is written by the victors, but I don’t remember that applying to Williams’ lectures. His interpretation of history did not gloss over the ugly underbelly of our collective past; instead, he taught a broader perspective, one that included the often-forgotten experiences of the underclasses and the disenfranchised. History always runs deeper than what’s on the surface, it’s seldom a simple right-versus-wrong equation, and he helped open my eyes to that.

Unfortunately, I lost touch with Williams years ago; he retired from UALR about a decade ago. I hope he knows of the lives, like mine, that he influenced through his instruction.

In the honorable profession of teaching, I hold him up as one of the greats — not because of the facts and figures he passed on, but because of the way he pushed his students to think beyond their limited perspective.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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