House Call: This Black Doctor Running For Congress Could Be First Trauma Surgeon Ever To Be Elected
Dr. Brian Williams is one of the Democratic candidates running for Congress aiming to represent Texas’ 32nd District next year. The Dallas, TX House of Representatives seat is currently held by Colin Allred, who is going up against Ted Cruz to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.
A self-described “military brat” Williams decided to join the family business and attended the Air Force Academy. Following six years of service in the Air Force, Williams pivoted to a career in medicine.
He went to medical school at the University of South Florida. Then, “[h]e completed his residency at Harvard, and a fellowship in trauma surgery at Emory University in Atlanta.” Upon completing his training, Williams moved out to the Dallas area where he worked as a trauma surgeon.
In 2016, Williams rose to prominence after being the “surgeon in charge of the emergency room trauma team on the evening of July 7, when Micah Xavier Johnson shot and killed five Dallas police officers, injured nine others, and wounded two civilians during a downtown protest about past police shootings.”
This was a pivotal moment for Williams. After the shooting, he made the decision to speak out at a press conference. “This is much more complicated for me, personally,” Williams explained.
“I understand the anger and frustration with law enforcement. But they are not the problem,” Williams said. “I want the Dallas police officers to see me, a Black man. I support you. I will defend you. I will care for you. That doesn’t mean I do not fear you.”
This isn’t the doctor’s first rodeo in Washington, D.C. either. Prior to declaring his candidacy, Williams spent some time working in policy in our nation’s capital. And now he’s trying to make his way back.
ESSENCE had a chance to sit down with Williams to talk about the pivot from the operating room to politics.
In a crowded field, Williams believes he’s the best for the job, telling ESSENCE, “[T]his is the continuation of the work I’ve done since I was a veteran and doctor. I recognize that we’re in crisis right now. We have an epidemic of gun violence. We have healthcare that’s inaccessible to millions. We have the denial of abortion rights to women, like what’s happening with this case here in Texas right now.”
“As a doctor I have experience on the frontlines, and this is an opportunity for me to take that experience and make a difference at the federal level,” stated Williams.
Williams reiterates his passion for ending gun violence. “I’ve just had too many children dead on arrival due to gun violence,” he shares. “I’ve had to deliver that news to far too many parents. The state of Texas leads the nation in mass shootings, and the country is on a record pace this year for mass shootings.”
“This isn’t a race about sending any old Democrat to Congress,” Williams emphasized. “It is about sending the right Democrat for the times that we were in. We need to send people that understand what’s happening in our hospitals, in our communities. And that is the type of leader I intend to be.”
A victory for Williams would mean that he would become “the first trauma surgeon elected to Congress, and the first Black doctor with voting privileges.” “It will be historic,” Williams says.
