Roland L. Williams, Jr.
rolandw@temple.edu
215-204-1807
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Great grandson of an American slave, Roland L. Williams, Jr. was born in Valley Forge and raised in Philadelphia. After he earned a PhD in English from Penn, he wrote African American Autobiography and the Quest for Freedom (Greenwood 2000). The publication shows how slave narratives picture the world as a big sea where learning brings to life the prospects of a bold swimmer.
Williams offers courses on racial imagery in American literature and film. His classes explain how images of race reflect a color complex started by slavery. Besides reading novels such as Huckleberry Finn, Invisible Man, and Caucasia, students study feature films like Pinky, Skin Game, and Trading Places. The professor raises questions that prompt students to discover how history and culture affect understanding. Such knowledge will rise in value as the planet grows into a global city.
He has a forthcoming book entitled Cast of Colors. The volume covers how identification by complexion came to veil the incongruity of slavery in a land sold on liberty. It tells that the color scheme sorted people into bands of bright whites, dim blacks, and shady rusts. The study discloses that the rating system set the stage for the Minstrel Show. In the end, it proves that Uncle Tom’s Cabin polished the code and preserved it for use in Hollywood cinema.
Williams follows the seasons in Fairmount Park and marvels at the tones that highlight the shifts.
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