John Taylor “J.T.” Williams  J. T. Williams was born May 1, 1859, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, to free African Americans, Peter Williams and Flora Ann McKay. His parents made sure he obtained an education at an early age. In 1876, Williams enrolled at the State Normal School in Fayetteville (now Fayetteville State University) and graduated as valedictorian of his class in 1880. Upon graduation, he taught school for three years in several towns across the state, including Charlotte. In 1883, Williams left the teaching profession, entered Leonard Medical School in Raleigh, and graduated in 1886. 

After receiving his state medical license, he set up a practice in Charlotte and became one of the first three African Americans to practice medicine in North Carolina. Williams entered politics in 1889 and was elected to the board of aldermen (now city council) for two consecutive terms. In 1892, Williams co-founded the Queen City Drug Company, which grew into one of Charlotte’s most successful Black businesses. Like other prominent African Americans in the city, Williams accumulated wealth by investing in real estate and farming endeavors. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed him as the U.S. consul to Sierra Leone, which he held until 1906. Upon his return, Williams continued to invest in real estate and other financial ventures, like the Afro-American Mutual Insurance Company (1907). In 1917, he helped form Charlotte’s Colored Chamber of Commerce and the Mecklenburg Investment Company (1922).