Willie was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. His family moved North in 1964.

On why they moved: “The opportunity to get jobs other than farming, and to get equal schools. The African American schools were less in quality. The school I went to was made of wood whereas the white schools were brick.”

On living in Cleveland during the riots: “I remember the violence. I remember the National Guards being in the streets. I remember one night going to the movies, and the National Guards stopped our car and said, ‘What are you doing out?’ because there was a curfew.”