Darryl Williams (advocate)

Darryl K. Williams (January 28, 1964 – March 28, 2010) of Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts and Milton, Massachusetts, was an American advocate for social justice, compassion and forgiveness as well as a local advocate for accessibility for persons with disabilities. As a 15-year-old African-American high school student, Williams became the victim of a school shooting on September 28, 1979, in Boston, Massachusetts while playing American football. Williams survived the shooting, but was paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life.

Despite the misfortunes, Williams earned a high school diploma and a college degree. Over the course of three decades, he spoke too many thousands of Boston area high school students and others about gun violence, forgiveness and social justice in sports. He helped countless high school students and adults in and around Boston learn to accept people of all races. Along the way, Darryl was awarded full scholarships to attend college and many civic honors for his advocacy efforts.