Ward 3
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Community Leader, Organizer AJ Williams Files As Durham City Council Ward 3 Candidate

Phyllis Coley @phyllis_coley
Ward 3
AJ Williams

DURHAM, NC – On Tuesday (August 3), AJ Williams filed as a Durham City Council Ward 3 Candidate. The Durham-born racial justice organizer and progressive candidate intends to draw on his lived experience and relationships in frontline communities to represent Durham residents on City Council.

AJ Williams’s platform is focused on four key strategies:

  • Affordable Housing and Regenerative Planning;
  • Community-led Safety and Wellness;
  • Equitable Economic Growth and Cooperation; and
  • Citywide Access and Mobility.

“I’m interested in what our people need, and what our people care about. I recognize the urgency in protecting the wins over the past several years that have gotten us $15/hr for part-time city workers, increased funding to eviction diversion, the creation of the Community Safety and Wellness Taskforce, and expanded mental healthcare access,” Williams stated. “Our platform is built to center Black and Brown communities — and speaks to the syndemic our nation is experiencing. We have an opportunity now to author solutions for the people, by the people.”

His community organizing experience spans over several years, and includes organizing with Durham Beyond Policing, Southerners on New Ground, Black Youth Project (BYP)100 Durham Chapter. AJ Williams is on the Movement Board of The Cypress Fund, a Black-led fund with a focus on reparations through philanthropy. AJ Williams is serving his second term on Durham’s Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee, and he is also on the program design team of the We Are The Ones Fund, a municipally-funded project aimed at addressing gun violence in Durham, through funding community-authored solutions.

“Durham has deep cultural roots and a legacy of change-makers. I’m from a new generation of Black leaders who not only want to honor the legacy of our city but build towards a visionary and just future,” Williams said.

Ward 3
Freelon

Ward 3 Councilmember Pierce Freelon offered an enthusiastic endorsement. “I want local representation — someone who grew up here, attended public schools, and has deep roots in the community to represent me. I know AJ as an organizer. We’ve knocked doors, marched, and strategized together. We’ve written music, raised kids, and grew up in the same hood. He is rooted firmly in the rich political traditions of Ella Baker and Umar Muhammad and is a cultural movement worker standing on the shoulders of Pauli Murray and Baba Chuck Davis. He is an intelligent and compassionate Black trans man, father, and Durhamite, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to take over when my term ends in December.”

For more information, visit www.ajfordurham.com.