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Hettie V. Williams, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Anthropology at Monmouth University. She previously earned the rank of full professor at UMass Boston in 2023 and served as director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture. Williams is the former President of the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) and has established herself as a leading scholar in African American intellectual history with a focus on women's contributions to civil rights movements.
Williams earned her Ph.D. from Drew University, forming the foundation of her distinguished academic career. Her scholarly journey has taken her from UMass Boston, where she achieved the rank of full professor, to her current position at Monmouth University, where she continues to make significant contributions to historical scholarship and public discourse.
Dr. Williams' research focuses on African American intellectual history, women's history, and race/ethnic studies in a global context, with particular emphasis on Black women's roles in the civil rights movement in New Jersey. Her work challenges conventional narratives by demonstrating how the civil rights struggle began in New Jersey a decade before the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Williams examines how Black women forged interracial, cross-class, and cross-gender alliances that were instrumental in securing progressive civil rights legislation in the Garden State. Her scholarship bridges academic rigor with public engagement, appearing in both scholarly journals like the American Historical Review and popular outlets including HuffPost and BBC History Magazine.
Williams' publications reveal a consistent focus on recovering overlooked narratives of Black women's intellectual and activist contributions. Her recent work emphasizes local civil rights movements in northern states, particularly New Jersey, demonstrating how these regional struggles predated and influenced national developments. She has pioneered research on figures like Anna Arnold Hedgeman and examined institutional spaces like the Montclair YWCA as sites of Black intellectual development and community building.
- MLK Unsung Hero Award
- Eugene Simko Faculty Leadership Award
- PGIS Award in Social Justice
- Nominated for Distinguished Teaching Award (2022)
Dr. Williams has been instrumental in academic leadership and community engagement initiatives. She co-founded the Monmouth University Race Conference and established the Works in Progress Seminar Series. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Women's History and hosts several influential podcasts including 'This Week in Black History, Society, and Culture' and the 'Intellectual History' podcast for the New Books Network. As a research historian, she has contributed to documentary projects including 'My Buddy: The WWII 369th Documentary Project' and 'Asbury Park and the Great Migration.'
Williams directs the 'Paradoxical Paradise: An African American Oral History and Mapping Project on Asbury Park,' which documents the rich history of African Americans in the Jersey Shore region through oral histories and digital mapping. This project exemplifies her commitment to preserving and sharing historical narratives that might otherwise be overlooked in mainstream historical accounts.
