Terry Lee Williams (born March 22, 1950) is an American retired university administrator, ecclesiastical bishop, and politician.
A Democrat from Salt Lake City, he was the first African American to serve in the Utah State Senate, from November 1982 to December 1986.
His stepfather was an agricultural migrant worker, and the family (including his mother and five other children) spent three years in Burley, Idaho, as the only Black people in Minadoka County.
After a brief return to New Mexico, the family settled in Salt Lake City in 1960 to continue medical treatment at the Shriners Children Hospital.
[1] Williams graduated from South High School and Weber State College, where he served as president of the Young Democrats.
[2] In 1983, Williams was elected to an open seat being vacated by Democrat Frances Farley to represent Utah's 1st State Senate district.
Williams attributed his loss to racism, commenting that overwhelmingly white Utahns would not vote for a Black man for the U.S.