Born in Philadelphia, Walter E. Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from California State University and a master’s degree and doctorate in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

In 1980, he joined the faculty of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., and is currently the John M. Olin Distinguished Professor of Economics. He has also served on the faculties of Los Angeles City College (1967-1969), California State University (1967-1971) and Temple University (1973-1980). From 1963 to 1967, he was a group supervisor of juvenile delinquents for the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

He is also the author of several books. Among these are The State Against Blacks, later made into a television documentary, America: A Minority Viewpoint, All It Takes Is Guts and South Africa’s War Against Capitalism.
In 1981, he began writing his weekly column called “A Minority View” for Heritage Features Syndicate. And in 1991, he joined Creators Syndicate as part of its friendly takeover of Heritage Features.

Williams sits on many advisory boards, including the Review Board of Economics Studies for the National Science Foundation, the Reason Foundation, the National Tax Limitation Committee, the Taxpayer’s Foundation and the Hoover Institution. He is also a member of the American Economic Association, the Mont Pelerin Society and is a Distinguished Scholar of the Heritage Foundation.

Williams participates in many debates and conferences, is a frequent public speaker and often gives testimony before both houses of Congress.