A Conversation on a Sustainable Future with Bertram Williams Jr.

As excited as I was to speak with Bertram about his start in acting, that immediately changed when I heard the excitement in his voice and saw the passion in his eyes when he started speaking about his civil work. “It’s been passed down to me from my ancestors,” said Williams Jr as he spoke about the work his grandmother Bertha Wilbert did in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee specifically on housing reform. Civil work is something in his blood that he just can’t get away from and never will. 

“ I’m torn in that regard and I really don’t want to leave this work behind”

Bertram isn’t your normal person who gets into acting and wants to make it big. His heart, mind and soul are forever on making sure there is a future for the next generation to inherit. “I got a duty for my people,” said Williams Jr. For him to even leave the world of civil service behind he would need to still have things in place for others to support what he started. Bertram said, “it’s gonna take more than a few checks to take me away from my work.” This is because he believes that when he shows up, he shows out in all capacities and civil work is something that is a forever necessity for people whose voices they often ignore. 

“We as a people and as a global community need to start thinking differently” 

At a certain point in the conversation we both nerded out and laughed because it went from television to sustainability talk. “I’m thinking about having children one day and I want them to inherit a space that is livable and with food that is good for them,” said Williams Jr when I asked him why he has such a strong feeling of obligation to civil servant work. 

“The social media world that we live in has its advantages.”

Now if you follow him on social media one thing you will immediately notice are posts where he is out holding signs encouraging people to vote or in his garden planting and growing his own food. Bertram said, “this is an opportunity to leverage these tools.” He uses social media to not just promote causes but to show that he is actually out there with the people he is fighting for. He doesn’t knock anyone who only uses social media as a platform to spread awareness but he encourages others to get out there. “It’s doing community work in real time just as much as in virtual space,” said Williams Jr. This is because for him some of the most genuine conversations you can have are face to face with an individual in that physical space of what you are fighting for.

“Social entrepreneurship is our way out”

Unlike most of us who have this great generational debate on Gen Z vs. Millennials, he sees the beauty that all the generations are embracing the fundamental opportunity that is entrepreneurship. We can collectively think creatively to develop organizations and tools so that we can tackle the different issues we have. “It’s knowing that we got power,” said Williams Jr. that will allow us to get out of the current situation we are in globally. It’s being conscious of what we can do together rather than what we can do individually. 

“I know the impact of mentors”

We end this joyful conversation with Bertram informing that within recent years he has stopped attending as many protests but put more effort in helping others develop programs that will be beneficial for younger people. “It’s because people have invested in me and I feel duty bound to invest in others,” said Williams Jr. He sees the light in young people and he wants his ultimate work to help their light shine even more.

Photo credit: Valley in Film