Criminal attorney teaches pride in self, respect for others
by Janet Chang
reporter

   A noted criminal attorney told a NE Campus audience last week his success is the result of more than just his efforts as an individual.
   As part of Black History Month celebrations, Ted Williams presented I Believe I Can Fly.
   “You will hear, as I speak to you, the word God because I believe God is in everything we do,” he said.
Williams told listeners at the NE Campus luncheon Feb. 25 that his fame has exceeded his wildest dreams.
   “To succeed,” he said, “you must look defeat in the eye and keep on pushing. You must have a dream,” he said.
   What was his dream?
   “I tied a sheet around my neck and jumped off my grandmother’s porch, thinking I was going to fly,” he said.
   To be without a dream, Williams said, is to be sightless, seeing only the negative, to believe, “I can’t do that, forgetting that God will help you if you get on your knees and ask.”
   Williams offered advice on how to get started.
   “To go about creating a metamorphosis, “ he said, “you’ve got to have pride and dress with pride or nobody will respect you.”
   Williams said he deplores these times of same-sex marriages, sports stars who place themselves in morally compromising situations and celebrities who claim it is acceptable for grown men to sleep with little boys.
   “We need God and prayer now more than ever,” he said. “I know a man who can bring Lil’ Bow Wow to his knees.”
   Then he added, “God has a way to get across his message in lyrics such as Kelly’s. There are miracles in life that I must achieve.”
   Williams emphasized that success is sometimes about “giving something back.”
   He cited the example of the 8-year-old black honor student accused of carjacking a U.S. congressman’s car.
   “God allowed me to come into this kid’s life and represent him,” he said.
   Despite the progress that has been made in overcoming prejudice, Williams suggested areas for further improvement.
   “Why hasn’t there ever been a black commissioner of baseball or football?” he asked.
   Just as he inspires others, Williams said he, too, has been inspired by public figures he admired. When in school, his hero was Thurgood Marshall, former chief justice of the Supreme Court.
   Williams concluded by reminding the audience of the importance of a respectful attitude between instructors and students.
   “The young,” he said, “will find that they do not have all the answers, and instructors should remember that they have the power to change the lives of individuals.”