Dr. A.J. Williams-Myers was a community icon in Ulster County.

“You call him, he was there," said Odell Winfield, chair of the African Roots Board. "He was there and the community got to know that.”

But Dr. Williams-Myers was more than a local hero. He was recognized by many as one of the foremost scholars of African-American history in the entire country.

“Everything he said was said in a way that you knew, it was like, ‘wow, this guy is brilliant,’ " Winfield said.

Dr. Williams-Myers passed away last month. He was 82 years old. A graduate of UCLA, he was a faculty member at SUNY New Paltz for more than 36 years and served as the chair of the Department of Black Studies at the school until his retirement in 2016. But even after retirement, he remained focused on education, with the opening of the A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center Library in 2017.

“He made you think about what it means to be a person of color in this country," Winfield said.

The Kingston library offers a chance for everyone to learn about the history and experience of African-Americans on both a national and local level. And Dr. Williams-Myers spent time there, giving hands-on history lessons to young people.

“He brought some of the shackles and manacles that people used in their house to bound slaves that were either attempting to run away or were under the influence of leaving," Winfield said. "And the first question that was out of any of the children’s mouth was, ‘I thought slavery was in the South.’ They didn’t know that there was slavery in the North.”

Ethan Scott Barnett, program manager for the library, said that Dr. Williams-Myers had a familiarity that made him easy to converse with.

“Talking to Dr. A.J. Williams-Myers was like talking to an elder," Barnett said.

Through his lifetime of education and scholarly achievement, Dr. Williams-Myers was still working on educating people until his final days.

“Having that lifelong dedication to struggle is something that we should all strive for," Barnett said. "And it’s something that is deeply admirable."

Barnett is ready to pick up the baton, as a member of the next generation to carry on Dr. Williams-Myers’ legacy of educating people on their history, a history that often goes overlooked.

“In the Black scholarly tradition, not only do you pick up the baton but you pick up the footnotes, you pick up the care that these people have demonstrated and bring it into your own life and everyone else whose life you interact with," Barnett said.