Learotha Williams, Jr., PhD
Learotha Williams, Jr., PhD. is a scholar of African American, Civil War and Reconstruction, and Public History at Tennessee State University. At TSU, he teaches more...
Learotha Williams, Jr., PhD. is a scholar of African American, Civil War and Reconstruction, and Public History at Tennessee State University. At TSU, he teaches courses that explore Civil War and Reconstruction history, African Americans in Public Memory, Black Politicians, Civil Rights, 20th Century Black Intellectuals, African Americans in Tennessee, and Slavery and Emancipation in Middle Tennessee. Dr. Williams has worked as a Historic Sites Specialist for the State of Florida, acted as coordinator for the African American Studies Program at Armstrong Atlantic State University, and served as a trustee of the Historic Savannah Foundation in Savannah, Georgia.
At TSU, he coordinates the North Nashville Heritage Project, an effort that seeks to encourage a greater understanding of the history of North Nashville, including but not limited to Jefferson Street and its historic relationship to the greater Nashville community. He serves on the Metro Historic Zoning Commission in Nashville and on the board of the Friends of Fort Negley, a UNESCO site of Memory, in Nashville TN. He is the owner, lead researcher, and consultant for Past Perfect, LLC, a Nashville-based historical research and consulting firm.
His most recent publications include a Co-Authored work with Serina K. Gilbert, From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land: Stories of a Tennessee Reconstruction Community (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2025), Co-Editor with Amie Thurber, I’ll Take You There: Exploring Nashville’s Social Justice Sites. (
“A Balm in Gilead: Love, Hope, and Despair in North Nashville.” in Murals of North Nashville Now. (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press. 2019).
Dr. Williams is a native of Tallahassee, Florida, where he earned his doctorate in history from Florida State University in 2003.
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