MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY Dream first, then roll up sleeves

Ridicule only made a Youngstown native work harder.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Dreams are critical to success, but persistence is needed to make them come true, said Annalisa Williams, a Youngstown native recently elected as an Akron Municipal Court judge.
She told a crowd gathered Monday for a "Living the Dream" workshop that she did not receive good grades in her early years in school and spoke with a lisp. One teacher said she probably wouldn't graduate from high school.
The young girl found refuge by watching television and was fascinated by Perry Mason and other law shows. When she told people that she wanted to be a lawyer, they laughed.
"They said, 'You're black. You're poor. You can't even talk. How can you dare to dream to be a lawyer.' The more people would laugh, the harder I'd work," Williams said.
She blossomed later at South High School, from which she graduated in 1974, and then earned a bachelor's degree from Kent State University in three years. She was a criminal defense lawyer and prosecutor for 19 years before her election in November.
She was invited back to Youngstown by the Martin Luther King Planning Committee of Mahoning County, which sponsored the workshop at First Presbyterian Church.
It won't be easy
Williams said that King never preached that success would be easy.
"Dr. King said we could live the dream but to live the dream is going to cost you something," she said.
People have to be willing to work hard to reach their dreams and put up with ridicule at times, she said.
She said she ran three times before being elected judge. She said people began to question her after two losses. The Akron court covers the suburbs, which made it difficult to beat the Republican incumbent, she said. The Democrats didn't have much money for her, so she spent mostly her own money.
As a member of Westley Temple A.M.E. Church, Williams said she is motivated to push on by her faith in God. She said her inspiration is the Bible and her favorite story is about Joseph in Genesis. She said she likes Joseph because he was a man who understood dreams and overcame great obstacles, including being sold into slavery and later put in prison.
"God will honor your dreams, and he will put people there to help you," said Williams, who is the daughter of Eula Grace Stubbs and the wife of Michael Williams, an Akron city councilman.
Her mission
Williams said she sees her mission as judge as not only to bring justice to the courtroom but to reach out in the community to help youth before they get in trouble.
One of her efforts has been to bring Street Law to Akron. The program teaches students about certain aspects of the law to educate them and perhaps inspire them to a legal career.
"I tell them, 'It doesn't matter if you are poor. It doesn't matter if you aren't particularly smart. All you have to be is persistent," she said.
shilling@vindy.com