Thomas Chatterton Williams


Thomas Chatterton Williams is an American cultural critic and author. He is the author of the 2019 book Self-Portrait in Black and White. He is a contributing writer at The New York Times Magazine.
He is a 2019 New America Fellow and a Berlin Prize recipient.

Early life and education

Thomas Chatterton Williams was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1981, to a black father, Clarence Williams, and a white mother, Kathleen. He was named after the English poet Thomas Chatterton. He was raised in Fanwood, New Jersey, and attended Union Catholic Regional High School in Scotch Plains. Williams graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He also completed a master's degree from New York University's Cultural Reporting and Criticism program.

Career

Williams released his second book, Self-Portrait in Black and White: Unlearning Race, on October 15, 2019. Williams appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher on October 18, 2019, to promote the book.
Williams was a member of the jury for the 2019 American Library in Paris Book Award.
In 2020, he and 152 others published "A Letter on Justice and Open Debate", an open letter defending free speech, in Harper's Magazine.

Personal life

Williams married French journalist and author Valentine Faure in France in 2011. He lives in Paris, with Faure, their daughter Marlow, and their son Saul.