L. Joy Williams is ready to continue Hazel Dukes’ legacy

After decades of steady stewardship from Hazel Dukes, the NAACP New York State Conference has found its new leader in L. Joy Williams. Before Dukes’ passing, Williams served as the head of the Brooklyn NAACP and worked closely with the civil rights legend. After mourning the loss of such a giant, Williams is now ready to take on the task of leading the statewide NAACP into a new chapter. 

Williams, a political consultant by trade, brings a new, more youthful perspective to the storied civil rights organization. She has plans to increase recruitment, grow the conference and improve its presence not just in New York City, but around the state. For Williams, this is the kind of work she has already strived to do, and she’s ready to hit the ground running. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

You come into this position under tragic circumstances, but you certainly have some big shoes to fill.

Absolutely. I try to think of it as not to fill shoes, but I use a cheesy phrase. But it really is true, use the footprints that (Hazel Dukes) left to kind of guide me into what to do. She was confident in what I could bring to the state conference, and to really just lean into that. That I don’t need to change things. I don’t need to try to emulate her. Between her and the membership, who also support me as well, they do that because they support L. Joy, not L. Joy trying to be Hazel. So I try to focus on that.

How are you settling into the role coming from leading the Brooklyn chapter?

There’s two things, right? All of this stuff is volunteer. So it’s one, balancing what my job is and the work of the NAACP. One of the great things is that I wanted this work to be my job for a very long time, so it’s not a hardship in that way. I think the largest transition is just getting to know – I’d known, like maybe 60%, 70% of the branches. So just really being able to get to know them in a different way. And I’m sort of at the tail end of my assessment kind of period, in addition to learning more about Black communities across the state, which is an interest for me in general. So that has been a great adjustment in just soaking all of that in.

What is your vision for the NAACP New York State Conference?

One focus is really the health of the branches themselves, and making sure that they have the resources, making sure that they have training, making sure that they’re structured in a way to engage and be involved in their community is one of my top priorities. And then uplifting their work, because we have branches all across the state, not just in New York City. Then second is, there really isn’t an organization that is consistently leading on legislative and advocacy agenda for Black New Yorkers that has the footprint that we have, having branches all across the state. And so being able to coordinate those actions, having our voice in (the) budget process and the legislative process. You’ll see us involved in those kinds of things and waging campaigns or raising issues. Now that we have this greater political representation, we intend to use it. If you’re saying you’re a member, if you’re saying you’re down for the cause, let’s address these issues.

You and your executive director are from a different generation than your predecessor. How are you bringing that viewpoint into the role?

I get our reputation is older – (the) older civil rights generation reputation. And to a large extent, that’s true, not only here in New York but across the country. But one thing I was able to do with Brooklyn NAACP, it’s the most generationally diverse branch in the state. The average age of an NAACPer is probably like 67, 68. In Brooklyn, it’s like 32, 34. All with the goal of not pushing anybody out, but how do we have an intergenerational leadership style that allows us to take wisdom from all aspects, but also be able to use the usefulness and energy and new tools to actually get things done. And I think our membership is excited about that possibility. We’re not a social service organization, right? What we’re really about is about using our political power, using our organizing power, to make structural change for our communities. And my overall visioning goal from all of those three things I talked to you about, is building Black political power throughout this state and then wielding it for structural change.

In your time working with Dukes, what is the biggest or most important lesson you learned from her? What from her are you taking into the position?

Most people know her as being a firebrand, no-nonsense. But those of us who are close to her also know how much she was also on the other side – encouraging, supportive, guiding you toward something, giving information, giving wisdom. I think that’s the one thing that I tried to keep in perspective: Is this energy needed in this space right now, or is there another way to move things to get to the end result that we’re trying to build? And most people don’t see all of those sides of her, except for those of us who you know worked with her and were close to her for some time.

What do you see as her most long-lasting legacy, and how do you hope to continue or put your own touches on that?

There are a lot, definitely the expansion of the conference. She became president, I think the year before I was born, so, 1977 right? So definitely, the expansion of the (NAACP New York) State Conference is something I am eyeing. The second thing, I think, is her commitment on education. And I think that’s still an unfinished civil rights issue, particularly in a state like New York, where we have so many resources and so many things, that there should be no reason why every child that is not in New York has a world-class education. I think it’s an unfinished legacy. And obviously the economic opportunities that exist, that’s a focus for me, for what I see in terms of my presidency. We have all of this representation on the state Legislature, City Council, but then, if you still have young Black children at a poverty level or still homeless in the state of New York, we have a lot of unfinished business.

We’re seeing the greatest level of Black political power in New York history. How would you want to see that power grow or expand or change in some way?

I’m not looking for a number. The promise of representation was that you would have people in the rooms, that you would have people with the power to be able to break structural racism, who would be able to ensure that there was equity and resources. That was the promise of representation. We haven’t gotten that so far. And I think part of our political maturity is acknowledging that. From a civil rights standpoint, our job is to hold people accountable and to have the political infrastructure to hold people accountable. A lot of people elect people, and I have this saying, it’s just like you cast your vote, and it’s basically the equivalent of you sending your representative off on an Amtrak train with a little note pinned to their chest and saying, “Go off and do this.” What I’m attempting to change is we’re not sending you off, we’re getting on the train with you. And we’re going to go along the way to make sure you’re focused on the priorities that are beneficial for our children and for our communities, give you backup when it’s necessary, and also fight you if you’re in the way, but all with the greater goal of making sure you know our communities and our people are good.