[2] Ethel Williams spent her whole life as a dedicated educator, teaching at the elementary, high school, and college level.

This was the start to a newfound passion, and he later used an extra bedroom in the family's house as a darkroom to develop negatives.

[2] The only time Williams' work appeared on the cover of JET was his picture of Coretta Scott King speaking at the protest during the 1969 Charleston hospital workers' strike.

As a young professional, he also contributed to other publications, including the Baltimore Afro-American, Associated Press, and Pittsburgh Courier.

In January of 1960, during Williams' senior year at Claflin University, he was visiting relatives in New York City.

He had read that John F. Kennedy would be at a downtown hotel at a press conference, and went there in hopes of capturing some images.

He forgot his press pass, and the hotel security was about to kick him out of the room right as Kennedy was about to come up to the podium.

For the next year, while campaigning all over the United States, Williams became a close acquaintance of Kennedy, and one of his favorite photographers.

Although better known for photography, Williams' painting, art, graphics, and architectural renderings represent proficiency, especially among minimalists.

Although at that time, because of his race, he was barred from attending Clemson University in his state to study architecture, he drew plans for several residences; one of which was featured in the June 1977 issue of Ebony; "Space Age Home".

[5] He also documented Harvey Gantt's desegregation of Clemson University in 1963, the 1969 Charleston hospital workers' strike, and the 1968 Orangeburg Massacre.

[8] In 2015, Williams invented the FilmToaster, a camera scanning platform and system that digitizes film negatives faster than other methods.

[2] Williams owns a portrait studio, event, and wedding photography business based in Orangeburg, South Carolina.

He also tours the nation giving presentations at conferences, events and institutions about his work during the civil rights movement.

Williams ran again as a candidate in the Democratic primary preceding the 1996 United States Senate election in South Carolina.

He holds membership with Delta Chi, the Orangeburg, South Carolina Boulé[12] of Sigma Pi Phi, the oldest African-American fraternity.