Darryl Williams (advocate)

On Friday, September 28, 1979, Darryl Williams was playing for the first time as a wide receiver on Jamaica Plain High School's (JP) football team. The team traveled to the neighborhood of Charlestown in Boston, Massachusetts to play against Charlestown High School. There were notable racial tensions exacerbated by four years of court ordered school busing in Boston during the mid and late 1970's. The predominantly white neighborhood of Charlestown was not considered hospitable to African American teenagers such as Williams. The ethnic makeup of Charlestown High School at the time was mostly working class Irish and other Europeans whereas at Jamaica Plain High School the makeup was more diverse with many African Americans as well as Europeans. The respective football teams reflected this difference. Despite the differences and tensions, the teams met and began playing.

Late in the 2nd quarter, Williams caught his first pass ever in a high school varsity football game. His reception led to a score for Jamaica Plain High School. The 2nd quarter ended soon afterward, and it was halftime. The team opted to stay outside during halftime instead of going to the guest locker room. Williams and his team huddled together near the end zone, celebrated Williams' reception and their 6–0 lead. The football coach started giving a pep talk.

Meanwhile, across the street about 300 yards away, three Irish American teenage boys living in a nearby housing project perched on the roof of an empty apartment building. One of the teenagers had recently found a loaded pistol and was ready to test it. He fired the gun once in the direction of the football field. The boy who fired the gun later claimed to be shooting at pigeons, but one of the other boys disputed this.

The bullet went between Williams' shoulder pads and helmet and lodged in the back of his neck. Darryl fell to the ground unconscious in front of his teammates. The noise from the shot echoed against nearby buildings. Darryl's teammates, fearing more shooting, fell to the ground as well. One of the teammates noticed Darryl was unconscious and called out for help. Emergency responders arrived immediately. When Williams awoke, he was unable to feel anything below his neck.

Emergency responders put Williams into the ambulance from the football field.[4] However, the ambulance went to Boston City Hospital in the South End neighborhood of Boston for treatment even though Massachusetts General Hospital in the West End was much closer. Darryl was paralyzed from the neck down and confined to a motorized wheelchair. Back in Charleston, both football teams left the stadium and never played the second half of the game. After a massive two day manhunt, the teenagers involved were found and arrested. The next day, Pope John Paul II arrived in Boston for a pastoral visit, and shortly after that on October 3 a large rally of thousands of adults and high school students was held in front of City Hall in support of Williams.[5] Several local and state politicians visited Darryl and his mother at Boston City Hospital during his recovery there and promised their support. The 3 teenage suspects were charged in the shooting and sent home after posting bail.

With racial tensions and fears of more violence, Charlestown High School did not play another home football game for nine years. In Jamaica Plain High School's 1981 yearbook, it is noted that a Darryl Williams week was commemorated at the school in Williams' honor.[6]

The two older suspects including the shooter were convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The third and youngest one, a 16 year old at the time, was tried in juvenile court and found not guilty. While in prison, the shooter told an interviewer that he was aiming at pigeons, not people. Williams and his family disputed the shooter's claim, and at one point the youngest admitted to a reporter that they were not shooting at birds.

Williams moved with his family to a wheelchair accessible home in Milton, Massachusetts in the early 1980s. The Freedom House of Roxbury, Massachusetts owned the house at the time and allowed Williams and his family to move there. Williams remained at the home for the next 30 years until the time of his death.

During a time of racial tensions, Darryl and his family opted not to use inflammatory rhetoric which could lead to more violence. Instead, he preached forgiveness whenever he could, and he advocated for peace and racial harmony. About the shooting, Williams said, “White people did not shoot me. Three white people shot me.”[3] Richard Lapchick, who also knew Nelson Mandela well, described Williams as "'America's lesser-known Nelson Mandela.' Like Mandela, he had every reason to hate white people. Instead, he loved all people."[3]

Williams attended the Massachusetts Hospital School (Pappas Rehabilitation School in Canton, Massachusetts) and earned a high school degree from Boston Public Schools. With the help of a President's Scholarship, he then earned a bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in Boston. Darryl was given a computer which responded to his verbal commands so that he could write. Joe Malone as Massachusetts State Treasurer hired Williams to work for the Massachusetts State Lottery.

In 1984, Richard Lapchick hired Williams as a motivational speaker. Richard Lapchick could relate to Williams as both Lapchick and Lapchick's father were the victims of sports related hate crimes.[7] Williams spoke to thousands of high school students about compassion, understanding and forgiveness in the face of violence in schools and racial tensions in Boston. He also advocated often for wheelchair accessibility in public places. He made friends with sports writers such as Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe and sports figures such as boxer Muhammad Ali. Ali called Darryl the "Second Greatest" after visiting him in 1991.

Williams died in his sleep at his home in Milton on March 28, 2010. Since then, several articles about Williams' life and accomplishments have been written by sports writers and several others. Richard Lapchick started a memorial fund in memory of Darryl Williams to help his family. In 2012, when Darryl's mother and sister were faced with foreclosure on their Milton home, Lapchick reopened the fund and the contributions from the Boston area to the fund was enough to pay off a quarter of the mortgage.[8]