James Estel Williams Sr. (September 15, 1921 – February 13, 1983) was an American attorney, teacher, and politician who became the first black mayor of East St. Louis, Illinois.
On April 6, 1971, Williams as a political newcomer and independent defeated Virgil Calvert, another black candidate who had been a member of the city council by a vote of 10,813 to 8,202.
[1] On April 1, 1975, he was defeated by William E. Mason, a Democrat who was a school district superintendent and who became the city's second black mayor.
[4] Williams died February 13, 1983, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, at age 61 after suffering from heart disease.
[4] Their son James E. "Jimmy" Williams Jr., a former U.S. Navy Pilot, has been the president and CEO of Estel Foods which operates McDonald's franchises in Illinois and Missouri for which he has received numerous awards.