George Washington Williams was one of the first people to publicly describe the atrocities being carried out in the Congo Free State under King Leopold II of Belgium. But so much happened in his life before that.

Research:

• Berry, Dorothy. “George Washington Williams’ History of the Negro Race in America (1882–83).” The Public Domain Review. 9/12/2023. https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/history-of-the-negro-race-in-america/
• BlackPast, B. (2009, August 20). (1890) George Washington Williams’s Open Letter to King Leopold on the Congo. BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/primary-documents-global-african-history/george-washington-williams-open-letter-king-leopold-congo-1890/
• Book, Todd. “What Tarzan Taught Me about Ohio History.” 10/1/2017. https://www.ohiobar.org/member-tools-benefits/practice-resources/practice-library-search/practice-library/2017-ohio-lawyer/what-tarzan-taught-me-about-ohio-history/
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "John Hope Franklin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Hope-Franklin. Accessed 31 January 2024.
• Elnaiem, Mohammed. “George Washington Williams and the Origins of Anti-Imperialism.” JSTOR Daily. 6/10/2021. https://daily.jstor.org/george-washington-williams-and-the-origins-of-anti-imperialism/
• Franklin, John Hope. "Williams, George Washington." Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, edited by Colin A. Palmer, 2nd ed., vol. 5, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 2303-2304. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3444701308/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=f3d8c89e. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
• Franklin, John Hope. “Afro-American Biography: The Case of George Washington Williams.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society , Jun. 18, 1979. https://www.jstor.org/stable/986218
• Franklin, John Hope. “George Washington Williams and the Beginnings of Afro-American Historiography.” Critical Inquiry , Summer, 1978, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Summer, 1978). https://www.jstor.org/stable/1342950
• Franklin, John Hope. “George Washington Williams, Historian.” The Journal of Negro History , Jan., 1946, Vol. 31, No. 1. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2714968
• Franklin, John Hope. “George Washington Williams: A Biography.” University of Chicago Press. 1985.
• "George Washington Williams." Notable Black American Men, Book II, edited by Jessie Carney Smith, Gale, 1998. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1622000481/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=718fd3c3. Accessed 30 Jan. 2024.
• Hawkins, Hunt. “Conrad and Congolese Exploitation.” Conradiana , 1981, Vol. 13, No. 2 (1981). https://www.jstor.org/stable/24634105
• John Hope Franklin Center at Duke University. “Dr. Franklin & Lea Fridman: George Washington Williams.” Via YouTube. 10/10/2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8WC5l2unNA
• McConarty, Colin. “George Washington Williams: A Historian Ahead of His Time.” We’re History. February 26, 2016. https://werehistory.org/williams/
• O’Reilly, Ted. “In Search of George Washington Williams, Historian.” New York Historical Society Museum and Library.” 2/24/2021. https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/in-search-of-george-washington-williams-historian
• O'Connor, A. (2008, January 23). George Washington Williams (1849-1891). BlackPast.org. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/williams-george-washington-1849-1891/
• Ohio Statehouse. “George Washington Williams.” https://www.ohiostatehouse.org/museum/george-washington-williams-room/george-washington-williams
• Simmons, Willam J. and Henry McNeal Turner. “Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising.” Geo. M. Rewell & Company, 1887. https://books.google.com/books?id=2QUJ419VR4AC&