Resolution 1005 – Honoring the Life and Career of Sandy Williams
WHEREAS, Sandra Renika Williams was born on September 13, 1961 in Columbia, South Carolina and was graduated from Cheney High School in 1979 and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Washington State University and a master’s degree in film/television production from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts; and
WHEREAS, she was a former interim executive director of the Odyssey Youth Center, which serves LGBTQ youths; helped to establish a Pride Center at Eastern Washington University; was a founding member of Spokane Community Against Racism (SCAR); was a longtime member of the Spokane NAACP; was appointed in 2013 by Governor Jay Inslee and served as a commissioner on the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs; and was the founder, editor, and publisher of the Black Lens newspaper, which tackled important topics impacting the Black community in Spokane and eastern Washington including its comprehensive election coverage and in the 1990s represented the Spokane office for the People of Color Against AIDS Network, a Seattle nonprofit; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Williams pursued the concept of, fundraised for, and opened the Carl Maxey Center serving the Black community in Spokane and eastern Washington, promoting economic development, education, cultural enrichment, racial equity, and justice issues; and
WHEREAS, Sandy was recognized in 2018 as a YWCA Woman of Achievement, was recognized by the Spokesman-Review newspaper as one of its 2019 Inland Northwest Women of the Year, and was a co-recipient in 2020 of the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force 2020 Champion Award; and
WHEREAS, Sandy Williams was returning to Spokane from a vacation with her partner, Patricia Hicks, on a float plane which crashed into the Puget Sound on September 4, 2022;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that Washington State Democratic Central Committee honors Sandra Renika Williams for her contributions to our state and the impact of her life’s work in Spokane and eastern Washington and offers its condolences to her family and friends.