Willis, Archie Walter Jr.

Impact on the world

Became the first African American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly since the Reconstruction era in 1964, after co-founding Memphis's first integrated law firm, Ratner, Sugarmon, Lucas, & Willis, in the mid-1950s; he also co-founded Mutual Federal Savings and Loan and his family's Supreme Mortgage & Realty Co., the first Black-owned mortgage company in the South.

Life & background

The son of Archie W. Willis Sr., co-founder of the Universal Life Insurance Company already profiled in this collection, Willis was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in South Memphis after his family relocated there in his infancy. After serving in World War II, he earned his bachelor's degree from Talladega College in 1950 and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1953. Returning to Memphis, he co-founded the city's first integrated law firm, Ratner, Sugarmon, Lucas, & Willis, in the mid-1950s, and in 1964 became the first African American elected to the Tennessee General Assembly since Reconstruction. He went on to co-found Mutual Federal Savings and Loan in 1955 and helped his family found Supreme Mortgage & Realty Co., the first Black-owned mortgage company in the South, while advocating for affordable homeownership programs through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and Shelby County's Homebuyer's Revolving Loan Fund. His second wife, Miriam DeCosta-Willis, became the first Black faculty member at what is now the University of Memphis, and several of his children have continued community development work in Memphis.

Sources

1. HighGround News (Black Memphis, Black History: The legacy of A.W. Willis); Common Ground; Tennessee Encyclopedia (Willis Jr., Archie Walter); Civil Rights Digital Library; WKNO-FM