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On July 27, Dr. Felton Williams was honored with the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and a gold medal for his work as an educator in Long Beach Unified School District and his establishment of innovative programming designed to increase the number of African American students in Advanced Placement courses and higher education.
Dr. Williams, the second-ever African American board member in the history of the city school district, was given the honor by the nonprofit educational organization, Our Shades of Blue, on behalf of President Joe Biden, whose letter honoring several other recipients was read.
The San Pedro-reared educator expanded access to Advanced Placement courses. In years past, students were required to be in magnet programs to qualify for AP courses. Due to his efforts, more African American and Latino students have access to AP classes and by extension, gained a better chance of getting into college.
Dr. Williams, who has served on the Long Beach Board of Education for 16 years, has championed the lead on President Obama’s Boys to Men of Color Initiative through several citywide events for both the male and female academies. Students can access support systems, work in smaller groups, coaching on etiquette, and receive job training preparation.
During his tenure on the Long Beach school board, Dr. Williams was bothered by the low AP course participation rate for students of color. Advanced Placement classes became a top priority, giving many more kids a chance for educational choices they may not have been able to access otherwise.
He said as much during an interview with Education Week magazine when he retired in 2020.
“When I looked at the numbers district-wide, we were looking at 500 kids of color in AP. Now we’ve got over 3,000 today,” said Dr. Williams, who has also served as president and vice president overseeing the Board for the 74,000-student school system.
Shades of Blue is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and arranging internship and employment referrals for young people who desire to pursue science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, and design.
