Mr. Aubrey W. Williams Sr.

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  American Student Union Memoirs - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/15/2008    Last Visited: 12/15/2008  

  We were friendly and dealt on intimate terms with members of the Cabinet, with Aubrey Williams, the head of the National Youth Administration and above all with Mrs. Roosevelt.

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  Aubrey D. Williams, Jr. ~ May 5, 1941 - July 20, 2002 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/5/2007    Last Visited: 8/5/2007  

  Aubrey attended Cleveland Public Schools, and was always involved in school activities.His first job was that of "banker" for the children's savings accounts in the school, which he says he "thoroughly loved."Aubrey was committed to helping others.He worked as a camp counselor for the YMCA, and was affiliated with the Glenville branch of the Y. He seemed to be blessed to have many strong mentors in his life, and learned value of hard work and responsibility.He graduated from Glenville High School in 1959.
  
  Having earned a football scholarship, he attended Ohio State University, but quit after the first year.He was married for a short time, and a son Michael was born of this marriage.
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  Aubrey was an avid golfer, and was a member of the Outer City Golf Club of Cleveland.He took many trips with the club and loved Myrtle Beach.
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  Aubrey was a leader and manager, beginning a career at Baker Lift Trucks.He worked at the old Towmotor Corporation, which soon became a part of Caterpillar Tractor, where he spent eighteen years, rising to the level of Superintendent.After receiving a buyout offer from Caterpillar, he went to Textron Corporation (formerly Ex-Cello), where he was still employed as director of Human Resources, having spent the past ten years at their New Baltimore operations near Detroit.
  
  In the workplace Aubrey was an encourager and motivator.Always seeking people who had potential, he gave many people the opportunity to grow, learn, and prosper.He encouraged them to work hard, and helped many minority and women employees attain their full potential as leaders and all around good employees.His skills as a negotiator were called upon often as he worked with different management teams to negotiate difficult and sensitive labor contracts.Being especially adept at interpreting labor laws and contracts, he was able to be a friend to both labor and management.
  
  Aubrey confessed Christ as Savior in 1988.
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  Before we got out of bed, Aubrey & I would pray.
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  After service, Aubrey & I shared a bagel.Then I went to my meeting with hospitality, while he sat in the back.Soon Clydell told me he had fallen.We began to pray.He asked us to call 911 - he was having trouble breathing.Clydell & I went to his aid, but in a few minutes, his spirit left his body.I called for him to come back, but he was gone with Jesus.
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  I extend my personal condolences to Barbara, to her family, to the family and friends of Aubrey Williams, and to the staff, friends, and partners of The Ministry of the Watchman International.
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  While I have had the honor of knowing Aubrey, I was not as fortunate to know him as intimately as some of you knew him.Aubrey struck me as a good man, a man of inspiration, courage, vision, stability, and strength.Aubrey was a real leader.He was a father figure who was full of wisdom.He was an advisor, a mediator, an encourager, and motivator He impressed me as a man of absolutely no pretense.He appeared to me to be a man endowed by God with humility, one of the greatest virtues that any man or woman can have.
  
  Aubrey is with the Lord now and so, he will not cross over to the next level of the work of this ministry.Therefore, I want to encourage the staff and volunteers of this ministry with the words of Moses.
  
  When Moses knew that God would not let him cross over into the Promised Land, he began to encourage those in the nation of Israel who would cross over.He encouraged them to "Be strong and of good courage.
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  Your family and friends, Barbara, have come to salute you and to declare that the course that Aubrey and you began will continue.
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  We do not cry because we have no hope but we cry because we miss Aubrey and feel an enormous void left only by his absence.
  
  In that Aubrey was co-founder of this ministry with Barbara, his wife, we should preserve his legacy and honor his memory by redoubling our efforts, and reaffirming our obligation to continue the sacred mission of this ministry to achieve all that God has called this ministry to accomplish in the earth.
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  In addition, I might add that your commitment to continue the sacred mission of this ministry is the best memorial to Aubrey Williams.
  
  To the staff and volunteers of the Ministry of the Watchman International, I pray that God will give each of you guidance in your respective positions to do your best for this ministry.It falls to all of you who love this ministry and to all of you who loved Aubrey to do your best to carry on the work he co-founded.
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  Aubrey would share in the laughter during a teaching Barb was giving.
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  Even when Barb would use their marriage as an example to prove a point or share a victory they had overcome, Aubrey would "add his 2 cents" and have us laughing like crazy!!
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  Aubrey looked over my resume for me to help me apply for promotions. (I'm still working it, Healed Guy!)
  
  My most favorite memory of Aubrey: I don't remember exactly when he began calling me "the original J. Lowe" or the real J. Lowe" and I began calling him "The Healed Guy."I only remember that this became the way we greeted one another.
  
  These were the last words we spoke to one another on the day Aubrey went home.You see, I have no doubt Aubrey went home healed.He was already healed.He was and is "The Healed Guy."
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  In remembrance of Aubrey Williams, our friend and family in Christ.
  
  One thing that comes to mind about Aubrey is his smile.When he would smile, his whole face would light up!
  
  I met Aubrey at the workplace.Aubrey was head of Human Resources at Textron, and my job was to clean the office.I have known Aubrey for about 8 years.Aubrey would always look out for me at work.The times when the plant would be closed due to shut down or holidays, Aubrey would always remember me by leaving little notes for me to let me know if I would need to come in to work or not.I appreciated this very much because at times it would be a real guessing game.
  
  Also, it was through Aubrey that I became acquainted with his wife, Barbara, which consequently introduced me to and allowed me to become a part of the Ministry of the Watchman.
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  So Aubrey was very much a vessel that God used in my life.I thank God for allowing our paths to cross.
  
  It started out to be a usual Saturday meeting on the day Aubrey went home to be with the Lord.I remember it was a hot, but nice summer day.This particular Saturday, I was given the assignment to hold a parking place for Aubrey in front of the building.I was never given this assignment before.I stood my watch and waited for Aubrey to arrive while everyone was inside singing and worshipping God.I will remember the vision of Aubrey's great big smile as he approached the parking space.I stood at attention and saluted him, not knowing that in a few hours he'd be leaving us.I look forward to seeing him again.
  
  Aubrey ~ I will miss you!
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  My memories of Aubrey go back a ways.
  
  After Barb & Aubrey first came to Detroit, there were occasions to go to their home.Aubrey was always polite, but businesslike.For some reason I felt intimidated.He would make small conversation, & I'd feel like I'd left my brain at the doorstep.But as the years passed, this changed, & I came to know Aubrey as my friend.Aubrey had "class"; I liked that.
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  When Aubrey went home, two scriptures came to mind:
  
  To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8), and Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)
  
  I remember Aubrey as a good husband to Barb.
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  I'll always remember Aubrey ...He was a friend to me.
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  Aubrey was such a special person and a blessing to so many. the first time I met him was at a Christmas party in Cleveland.His name, though perhaps unusual for some, was easy for me to remember.It was the name of my grandfather, whom I was named after.When I surprised my parents by being a girl, they just changed the "b" to a "d"!
  
  My most cherished memory of Aubrey was at the watchman conference when we had a teaching on "The Father's Heart," and healing from past hurts, rejections, & emotions.During the ministry time, those who needed prayer were held / hugged by someone ... that person representing the arms of our Heavenly Father.Aubrey was that person for me.
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  I'm glad I had the time I did with Mr. Aubrey Williams.

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  BAW: HBCU of the Month: Bethune-Cookman College - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/8/2004    Last Visited: 2/13/2006  

  Afterward, Aubrey Williams, the Director of the NYA who was a close friend of the President, thanked her for her inspirational report.
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  Aubrey Williams informed her that the President was so impressed with her appeal that he established the Office of Minority Affairs within the NYA, and that he wanted her to be the administrator.
  
  Visit the Bethune-Cookman student life photo gallery

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  Brookings: Library: Archives: Records of... - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/6/2004    Last Visited: 10/12/2005  

  Other noteworthy items are a proposal for a National Institute of Industrial and Social Psychology (box 1); summaries of interviews taken by Meyer Jacobstein (Brookings economist) in 1939 with Aubrey Williams of the National Youth Administration (NYA) and Colonel F.C. Harrington of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) (box 4, folder 12); and a letter from Moulton to Edward R. Stettinius' assistant concerning the site of the United Nations (box 10, folder 12).

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  Encyclopedia of Alabama - Categories - Government and... - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 8/22/2009  

  Aubrey Williams at Maryville College
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  Aubrey Williams
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  Aubrey W. Williams

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  Encyclopedia of Alabama: Aubrey W. Williams - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/21/2009    Last Visited: 5/22/2009  

  >> Aubrey W. Williams
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  Aubrey W. Williams
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  Aubrey Williams, photographed around 1937, during his time
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  Aubrey Williams Tireless social activist and New Deal program administrator Aubrey Williams (1890-1965) was born, on August 23, 1890, in Springville, Alabama, into a family economically and spiritually impoverished by the Civil War. Forced by economic circumstances to leave school at seven, he worked at various jobs around Birmingham. At 21, he was admitted to Maryville College in Tennessee and took courses for the ministry. There he gained his first formal education and acquired a lifelong devotion to social activism.
  
  At the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for battlefield ambulance duty with the YMCA but soon left to join the French Foreign Legion. After America's entry into the war, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served with the artillery. When the war ended, he remained in Europe, studying at the University of Bordeaux. In 1919, he returned to the United States and enrolled in the social work program at the University of Cincinnati, graduating in 1920. On December 20, 1920, Williams married Anita Schreck, with whom he had four sons.
  
  Aubrey Williams enrolled at Maryville College in Maryville, Aubrey Williams at Maryville College In 1922 Williams was named executive secretary of the Wisconsin Conference for Social Work. It was in this capacity that he developed the exceptional administrative skills that brought him, eventually, to the attention of Harry Hopkins, head of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal relief activities at the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The two men worked effectively together, and because of Hopkins's increasing involvement in general policy-making and his serious health problems, Williams effectively ran the WPA for long periods. This gained him considerable influence in New Deal circles, as did his friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
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  Aubrey Williams became head of the National Youth
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  he remained till its dismantling in 1943. President Roosevelt then nominated him to head the Rural Electrification Administration in 1945, but again a coalition of Republicans and Southern Democrats, outraged by his liberal political and racial views, prevented his confirmation after a bitter hearing. Williams never again worked in a governmental position.
  
  In 1945 Williams returned South, to Montgomery, and was soon joined by liberal fellow New Dealers and civil-rights activists Clifford and Virginia Foster Durr.
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  With financing from pioneering Chicago retailer Marshall Field, Williams and fellow activist Gould Beech purchased the newspaper the Southern Farmer and turned it into the South's leading journal of liberal opinion. Throughout the 1950s he continued his outspoken advocacy of civil rights, civil liberties, and social justice as a member of the Southern Conference for Human Welfare, as president of its successor, the Southern Conference Education Fund, and as president of the National Committee to Abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee. Not surprisingly, he was under constant attack from conservatives, especially The Southern Farmer was purchased by Aubrey Williams,
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  That year, along with Virginia Foster Durr, Williams was investigated by the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security for alleged Communist Party membership.
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  In 1963 Williams returned to Washington, where he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Despite his illness, he took part in Martin Luther King Jr.'s march on Washington. Williams died on March 15, 1965.
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  Salmond, John A. A Southern Rebel: The Life and Times of Aubrey Willis Williams, 1890-1965.

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  Hudsonian Magazine - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/13/2003    Last Visited: 9/17/2004  

  But on Sunday, Sept. 8 Aubrey Williams, the assistant director of the WPA who'd been sent to Florida to investigate the deaths, sent a report to FDR at Hyde Park saying federal officials were blameless and the vets' deaths were due to "an act of God."

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  Miller Center — Lyndon B. Johnson Oral History - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 12/15/2004    Last Visited: 10/22/2006  

  Associated with the NYA as the Assistant Director to Aubrey Williams.

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  Moaa - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 4/30/2003    Last Visited: 1/24/2004  

  Mrs. Rosenberg continually represented big business, yet managed to establish a close relationship with labor unions and New Deal activists such as Aubrey Williams, and with politically powerful men such as Fiorello LaGuardia.
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  Aubrey Williams, who was head of the National Youth Administration (NYA) and a stalwart New Dealer, called her about a "young dynamo" (who also worked for the NYA) in Texas who was making his first race for Congress.

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  NYA - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/1/2004    Last Visited: 10/30/2006  

  "I must confess to all of you that I am thoroughly frightened," declared Aubrey Williams, executive director of the National Youth Administration (NYA).
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  The WPA proposal developed under the guidance of Administrator Harry Hopkins and his deputy, Aubrey Williams, initially included the education office as a limited partner, but even that was ditched in response to Studebaker's campaign for his education-only plan.
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  It encompassed aspects of several plans, but was to operate under the WPA and be administered by Williams.
  
  Williams was, in the words of one chronicler, "a passionate, liberal Alabamian."He had a degree in social service from the University of Cincinnati and had worked overseas with the YMCA.
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  To Reiman, the NYA created "the first federal affirmative action program in history" - reflecting the view of Williams and his fellow administrators of their agency as an engine for social change.
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  Witness her letter to Williams in 1941 about a controversy that had arisen within the agency over a man being considered for a supervisory position in Patterson, N.J: "If this man is really good I do not think he should be turned down because he is a republican."
  
  She knew the NYA needed all the political support it could get, for it was constantly being tugged in different directions.
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  Right from the start, Williams' office kept a newspaper clipping file in which articles were coded according to the papers' political leanings, and compiled weekly summaries of media coverage.
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  Consider the bureaucratic tiff between Williams and Education Commissioner Studebaker in 1936.
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  Victory for Studebaker - until Williams told Roosevelt the whole thing was a waste of money.
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  Williams, according to his biographer, considered Studebaker "perhaps the most bitter enemy he ever made during his years in Washington."
  
  Space Invader
  
  The problem was that for certain people in Washington whose jobs were to guard their constituents' turf, Williams was constantly sneaking into their territory.
  
  When his agency established guidance and placement bureaus in 1936 to help young job seekers, and when it began training youth for war production as World War II loomed, some labor leaders charged that the youth would replace older, veteran workers at cheaper wages.
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  In a 1936 press release about upcoming NYA programs, Williams stressed that "the emphasis on the work projects would henceforth be to give training.The labor-intensive projects, such as park maintenance or recreation work, were to be scaled down and replaced with more solid skilled activities."
  
  The NYA was stepping into vocational education - which schools saw as their bailiwick, even though many educators admitted that they did it infrequently and poorly.Williams knew this was dangerous ground; he instituted the changes slowly while reassuring educators that his agency was no threat to them.
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  Williams didn't wait for war; he saw defense-related work as a matter of survival.
  
  As early as 1938, he began shifting the work done by youths at the residential centers toward tasks that would be useful for defense contractors, such as making machine parts and building engines.As the situation in Europe worsened, Williams accelerated the shift throughout the NYA.
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  That year Williams tried to neutralize his biggest foe, signing an agreement with Studebaker that gave education officials responsibility for off-the-job training of NYA enrollees.
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  "In the short term," writes Williams' biographer, "the agreement mollified Studebaker , without greatly restricting the NYA's education activities," which were largely on-the-job training.
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  Even before Dec. 7, 1941, the NYA was staggering - witness the October meeting at the White House where Williams said he was "thoroughly frightened."
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  Williams fired back with language that reflects the more angry sentiments of some youth agency leaders today.
  
  "This attack is an effort on the part of a small group of educators here in Washington to kill off every effort that serves young people, except that which they control," he wrote to Sen.Burnet Maybank (D-S.C.) in the wake of Givens' letter.
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  With proposals floated in Congress to eliminate the NYA in 1941, 1942 and 1943, Williams routinely testified on Capitol Hill and sent letters and reports to congressmen.
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  A Southern Rebel: The Life and Times of Aubrey Willis Williams, by John A. Salmond, University of North Carolina Press, 1983.
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  "If this man is really good ," Letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to Williams, July 2, 1941.
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  ",but when the NYA began to move ," Givens letter to Williams, June 22, 1943.

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