John Hope Franklin speaks about his biography of George Washington Williams and shares details about his life as a civic leader, public servant, and critic of European imperialism in Africa during the late nineteenth century. Franklin describes Williams’s visionary ideas for foreign policy and his dealings with King Leopold of Belgium, emphasizing the hypocrisies of Belgium’s rule of the Congo. Franklin comments on Williams’s obscurity in the historical record, the connection that Franklin feels with Williams, and traveling to key sites of Williams’s life.
At the time of this interview, Franklin, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1980-82) and later a trustee, was professor of history at the University of Chicago.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
