FRANK WILLIAMS
CEO, Managing Broker Owner, F.J. Williams Realty
Inducted October 9, 2017
“WE GOT A SEAT AT THE TABLE AND WE MADE A DIFFERENCE”
Meet Frank Williams:
When the going gets tough, Frank Williams steps up to answer the call. A Chicago REALTOR® since 1971, Frank is a community leader who has made a career of challenging inequality, championing education and professional opportunities for minority real estate brokers, and demanding fair housing rights for all.
Following the civil rights movement, Frank worked to find homes for black buyers in historically white neighborhoods on the southwest side. He persisted in these desegregation efforts, despite ongoing harassment and threats, including a bomb being detonated outside his front door and a justice department investigation into five years of his business practices. His work to ensure fair housing practices throughout the city has been lauded by many in our community, most recently by the Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, who honored him with the 2017 Gale Cincotta Community Visionary Award.
Frank served as president of the Chicago Association of REALTORS® from 1989 to 1990. He was president of the Southside Chicago branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), president of the Dearborn REALTIST® Board, and was a longtime board member of Ada S. McKinley Community Services.
His work to mentor and create opportunities for others continues in his role as an instructor for the REALTORS® Real Estate School, where since 1974 he has influenced hundreds of REALTORS® starting and furthering their careers. His emphasis on mentorship, education and the hiring and placement of minorities in the real estate business has truly helped to advance and strengthen our industry.
Congratulations, Frank, on your Hall of Fame induction.