CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville native and civil rights leader Eugene Williams, who worked to desegregate city schools and later championed affordable housing, died Saturday. He was 97.

“This community has lost a giant,” Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade told Cville Right Now. “He broke barriers in the housing field, in the education field. Our community will look a lot different without him.”

Williams was born and raised in Charlottesville, went to college at Southern University in Louisiana, and served in the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed, for a time, at Fort Eustis in Newport News.

In 1955, as the president of the city’s NAACP chapter, he led a lawsuit to integrate city schools.

His two daughters were among the first Black students to attend desegregated public schools in Charlottesville.

In 1980, Williams and some real estate partners built the Dogwood Housing Limited Partnership, creating some 60-odd affordable housing units, a response to the city’s redevelopment of the historically Black Vinegar Hill neighborhood back in the 1960s.

Wade was among a number of local leaders who routinely sought the counsel of Williams.

“Mr. Williams welcomed me into his home during my first year here, and what I thought would be a quick visit turned into hours of meaningful conversation,” said Charlottesville police chief Michael Kochis said in a statement the department shared on social media. “Over the years, our front porch chats helped shape my perspective on community, race, and policing. Mr. Williams will be missed.”

Wade said he believes the city will work to find a permanent way to memorialize Williams’s contributions to the city, in consultation with his family, in the coming months.

In 2017, the city recognized his birthday, Nov. 6, as Eugene Williams Day. Tuesday, the city posted a tribute to Williams on its Facebook page.

“Today, the City of Charlottesville honors the life and legacy of Eugene Williams, a beloved community leader whose vision, courage, and compassion helped shape the city we know today,” the post read. “Through his work as an educator, advocate, and founder of Dogwood Housing, Mr. Williams opened doors for generations of residents and championed fairness and opportunity for all.
His leadership and love for Charlottesville will never be forgotten. We are deeply grateful for his lifelong dedication to justice and community. Our thoughts are with his family and all who mourn this tremendous loss.”