“Do you know why the world is so great?” Community advocate, Andy Williams Jr., questioned his audience in Naperville, Illinois. It was poignant timing, May 31, 2020. His address headlined the George Floyd Memorial gathering.
His speech was unlike any other speech on the agenda for that day.
“Because God so loved the world that he sent all.. of us as examples to show the world what love really is like.”
That was Andy’s answer to the tragic death of Floyd.
And…this further drove his point home…
He was delivering a message of unity although he knew of nothing but brokenness for decades.
“A partially wrongful conviction sent me to prison. Then, (I suffered) a wrongful foreclosure.”
No, Andy Williams, Jr., isn’t your regular US presidential candidate. And yet, jail time and court losses weren’t the only challenges that backed up the conviction behind his speech.
“The reason I feel qualified to serve is because I had to first conquer the hate that was in my heart.”
That line delivered in his address left his audience with questions. Still, it captures Andy’s life and his presidential tagline, “Make the Earth Great Again.” But would a perfect stranger with his same life experience be bringing so much hope?
Troubled Times
Andy’s upbringing was the textbook for Hardship 101. He grew up with a stepmom who didn’t spare the rod, and didn’t spoil the child. He was on lock-down, permanent lock-down.
“When I was growing up, I was always on punishment, and the only place I could go was to church.”
By the end of middle school, his dad and stepmom parted ways.
“After flunking the ninth grade for being suspended too many times, I dropped out of high school, and my father kicked me out. He said, ‘If you’ve grown enough not to follow my rules, then you’re grown enough to take care of yourself.’ This led to petty crimes, which eventually landed me in prison.”
9th-grade dropout, Andy Williams Jr. was sent to Vandalia Correctional Center charged with strong-armed robbery.
“I took a gold necklace off the neck of a girl at school,” he explained. “This (should) have led to probation. But they charged me for the theft of a gold necklace off a police lieutenant’s wife’s neck.”
Spun in daze of what had happened, he was now behind bars. And held there for a crime that went against his code of honor.
“To steal from my elders wasn’t … my style. I was mad! That wasn’t the way I did things.”
Later after his release, Central Narcotics Task Force locked Andy back up for peddling dope.
“I was guilty (got a law library pass), studied for five months and found a way out of my charges.”
Nose in the law library books, he discovered his escape clause. If the judge suppressed his statement, he could beat the charge holding him there.
With an appeal, Andy got his case reviewed. “Judge said, ‘I know you’re guilty because I suppressed your statement. But the state didn’t prove it.’”
On his second lock-up for drug charges, Andy got really angry.
“I told (another) judge this whole system is modern … slavery. (He) ordered me … to (get) a psychological evaluation.”
Showing up late for his trial, the judge jailed him for failure to appear. Then, Andy was declared unfit to stand trial. After his psychological evaluation results came back, he was shipped to a mental hospital for months. Andy’s fiery temper kept him in that facility.
“Found out after one meeting that I didn’t need mental health (treatment).”
No, he just needed to calm down. So he did, and they let him go.
Schooled in Suffering
How does a man get back up after he’s been to the funerals of 18 childhood friends? In 1996, Andy had to find that out.
His hardest hit? His ex-wife’s brother, Lugene. Lue suffered several bullet wounds in front of his home.
Lue’s murder was Andy’s turning point.
“People need to know what’s out there so they don’t end up like my buddy in the casket. … Aurora, what are we going to do?”
Tack on to that loss, a wrongful foreclosure. All of the sudden, Andy and his family were without a home. The effects of the mortgage crisis of 2008 struck with monetarily deadly consequences. But Andy’s pain and suffering only continued.
“February 15, 2019, Gary Martin, my childhood friend, was the mass shooter at Henry Pratt (a valve manufacturing company) in Aurora, Illinois.”
Plus, 2019 opened new avenues for personal experiences of injustice on his drive home. Moments earlier, he was talking to a school principal about violence. Now, he faced an unlawful traffic stop. His later investigation showed Aurora police stopped him due to a gang-linked database that the city claims doesn’t exist.
From Blindness to Sight
C.S. Lewis explained in the Screwtape Letters the road to Hell follows a slow, graduated, downward plain. Hatred lays as a disguise there to keep preoccupation on the outside world, a distraction from someone’s inside work. But turning inward invites healing. And that can follow the same subtle slope only in an upward direction.
Andy was discovering this over time and battled with injustice and loss to discipline his extreme, destructive emotions.
Peeling back the bandages
When expressing anger doesn’t work out favorably for someone, where does he turn next? Andy soon discovered that too. Studying how to become an ace drug dealer and get himself out of charges, he uncovered the writings of ex-gangster Larry Hoover.
Reading these memos shook up his decisions for his future.
“I had a road to Damascus (moment). ‘Whoa, what am I doing here, destroying my community?’” Andy reflected. “(The memos were a) huge turning point because this imprisoned gang leader (Larry Hoover) — who I didn’t know personally — but if he was so ruthless, why is he talking about love, dedication, determination, discipline, and don’t destroy the community? ‘And become a leader (or a) doctor. … Don’t get tattoos. If you’re selling drugs … don’t make it a career.’ Good information, man. So, I applied that. It helped so much.”
The memos also suggested church attendance. And it was in developing his spirituality, Andy’s big breakthroughs would surface.
“I asked what is this gangster prophecy? What does all this mean? And the literature appeared. No difference than me saying, ‘God what is all this to you?’ ‘Glad you asked. Let me show you.’”
It was in these moments of self reflection, where Andy realized he wasn’t a victim of circumstance. Everything happened with an underlying reason.
- Discipline
- Protection
- Guidance
As Andy explained, God had intimately worked through it all, moments of suffering and success to form him for his mission.
“(God said) I knew you were going to ask that because I created you. And then I was beginning to see. Was it really darkness that I was in? Or was I just blinded?”
Grit to grace
As Andy worked his way back from the tragic deaths of his murdered friends, he recounted his recognition of God’s discipline and care for him throughout his life.
“Because I kind of feel like I’ve always been a light. But (the) light that I was, I still couldn’t see clearly. I still didn’t have the 20/20 vision. Because of the experiences I had been through.”
And that’s when he started to revive the old bible stories he knew as a child. Soon, he found spiritual fruit.
“You take what’s in the Word,” he explained. ”Look at what it physically says, and turn these words into a metaphysical experience to find hope in the present.”
Exploring the Old Testament stories, Andy personalized the lessons of its many heroes. And those stories in turn fed him and formed him into his own version of God’s warrior ready to battle with his own Goliaths.
“Because he knew the power was within him,” Andy said of King David, “(That) Was what he’s familiar with. That’s where I meet people. What are you familiar with? What are you excited about? Don’t … be like someone else. Be you. And that’s what I did. And that’s where you begin to overcome hate.”
The darkness was clearing within Andy’s heart. He was seeing a new light.
Mountain Top Meditations
Andy continued to lose people close to him, brothers and friends. In those moments of crisis, he found the answers he was seeking his whole life.
“Because (in self and scriptural reflection) you begin to see the God in you instead of the God in the sky that you can’t reach. Instead of waiting on the Savior to return, you sit there and receive the Savior inside of you. So, that Spirit can resurrect. And now, go out and do good things.”
But he came back from his meditative mountain experiences with this gleaming insight.
“I want people to see … the (path from) problem to … solution is in what we’re seeing. It’s not what they’re thinking. It’s what you’re thinking.”
Confident in his own value, Andy is full of one-liners that stop his audiences cold in their tracks. Negativity isn’t welcome. Andy has seen the light through the darkness. And he’s certain love is the answer.
“I’m the foolish one to believe that this world can really be changed by how we treat each other. That’s how I believe. Not that (others) they’re going to change.”
It was a folk artist who gave Andy a new name for his mission.
“The Hebrew name for Joshua is Yehoshua. Dr. Charles Smith, (a) national folk artist, gave me that name. Now, I realize what those two names (Yahweh and Joshua) mean. So, when I come to that position of being, I am Yehoshua son of Yahweh…And Yahweh for Andy is how you pronounce breath. That gasping for air is what Yahweh means. (That’s) where it came from. That whole spiritual journey. I am the breath of this generation.”
Giving Back Life
So, how did Andy move from legal ace get-out-of-jail-free drug dealer to renewing life in his community? The memos continued to be the turning point for that venture.
With added intention, Andy put Hoover ‘s suggestions into action. He found his first place to give life was in the church itself. So, he became a part of the transportation ministry.
The church van “took men from Wayside Ministry and elders who didn’t drive … to church.” Andy’s peers commented on how well he treated the equipment in the ministry.
“Joined the praise and worship team. Tithing spare change changed into sometimes tithing entire checks. I had such a servant’s heart. My mortgage company became very successful. Then, I became ordained as a deacon.”
Soon, Andy transferred from church to the greater public sphere. He first moved into several roles within the Aurora community.
- Sold cars at Gerald Nissan
- Ran multiple businesses and ministries
- Redid floors and painted houses
- Invested in real estate
- Even volunteered for Big Brothers and Sisters
“I had a ministry going called Give Hope. I was in the streets, (a) former big-time drug dealer. That gave me the credibility to give hope. Enough people knew about me. I grew up around two different sets of gang members. So, if you were in Aurora wanting to get straight, ‘Yo, Andy. Go by and see him.’ ”
And then, he moved his efforts into larger communities. As he struggled to rescue his home, Andy learned all about the mortgage industry and its flaws. He needed help and turned to the N.A.A.C.P. His first contacts with this organization didn’t pan out in the short run.
Years later, he met someone from the N.A.A.C.P. in a parking lot. And Andy’s fate changed.
“Mario Lambert became the president. I saw him in a parking lot one day. ‘I want you to join the N.A.A.C.P. and Chamber of Housing.’ I paid my dues right there in the parking lot. (Later, I) became …. vice president.”
From Legal Assistant to Political Action Taker
Andy got his paralegal degree in 2012. From that date to 2019 he helped law offices with their cases. He continues freelancing as legal assistant here in 2024.
Following the blueprint within Larry Hoover’s memos, Andy has entered the courtroom. Time and again he’s shed light on the injustices that exist in prison and greater society.
Although he doesn’t often win in court, he sees these outcomes as divinely taught lessons.
“So, I feel like when they’re making these decisions, it is because God is saying, ‘I’m using this to prepare you.’ (I) raised (my) hand and said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ I’m a vessel for the Lord. And I’m not afraid of the Goliaths of this generation.’”
Even when his peers begin to lose hope, Andy keeps a 20/20 spiritual perspective on events.
“Others say, ‘I should have won.’ I just say, ‘God isn’t finished yet.’”
For quite a while, Andy felt a connection to the imprisoned. Imprisonment is a recurring theme of the Old Testament. He feels called to release those held in prisons illegally and all captives.
As court battles for change end in deadlock, he learns from those decisions. And makes adjustments to fight another way on another day. This battling has led him to politics.
He joined the Libertarian party in 2019 and continues to do all he can in the courtroom. There, he creates revolution to free all the captives from all forms of slavery (overt and covert).
Branding and Boxing
As in the election of 2020, the 2024 election is Andy’s opportunity to step into the political limelight. He is stepping into the courtroom like a gladiator would step into the auditorium.
Andy is a candidate for tax reform, prison labor reform, and other key issues. These include issues like unlawful traffic stops. His marketing strategy for his campaigns was to call himself the marketplace minister. Until one day that changed. Doing some floors and painting for a client he was talking about his campaign.
“Here is this message of this guy named Christ. He was where the people were. He was in the ‘hood. That was where he was at. So, I draw inspiration from that. Draw inspiration from the 60s when neighbors knew one another.”
His client, also a photographer, came up with an outstanding idea. She did a photo shoot with Andy only she took pics of him in a hoodie. He looked like a prize fighter entering the boxing ring. And it stuck. Andy Williams Jr. is the hood candidate.
“I’m here to bring back the neighbor to the ‘hood,” Andy laughed.
This story above is only a frame in the slideshow of Andy’s journey. Follow him from behind bars to courtroom revolutions. Take a peek at his fight and his mission. Watch through his media as his incredible epic unfolds.
Andy’s journey forms parallels with the beloved hymn, Amazing Grace. It’s at the heart a redemption story. As the song’s writer, John Newton wrote tossed in peril on the waves in a 18th century ship ….“Once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind, but now I see.”
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Grand measure my elder comrade. Let’s go mighty man of valor. I’m confident that you will do whatever the Most High is granting you to do and I will continue covering you in consistent prayer.
Let’s go President.
Thanks, Ventae for reading and commenting!