Ephraim Williams Jr., the original benefactor and namesake of the College, was an enslaver.
This is a clear-cut matter of historical fact. Documents from his life, including his will, demonstrate that he enslaved at least five Black people, named Prince, J. Romanoo, Moni, London, and Cloe. What is less clear-cut is what the College will do to address this fact.
Although it is not a new revelation — historians and students at the College have written about it for decades — the College has done little to reckon publicly with it. An interview in the summer 2016 edition of Williams Magazine makes reference to the often-overlooked portion of Ephraim Williams’ will that mentions the people he enslaved. Special Collections includes his buying and selling of enslaved people in its timeline of his life. Otherwise, the College’s website does not acknowledge the fact that its benefactor and namesake held at least five Black people in slavery.
That is likely to change, however. This academic year, the College’s Committee on Diversity and Community (CDC) is examining institutional history, with a focus on slavery and colonialism. One of its main charges is to figure out how to grapple with this history — including that of the College’s namesake.