PITTSBURG — He's been called every thing from a fighter for justice to a tireless advocate, inspirational mentor and civil rights warrior. When Willie Mims walked through the door, wearing his colourful African kufi hat and dashiki top, carrying his carved traditional walking stick, heads turned and everybody knew he had something to say.
An ally to those whose voices often went unheard, Mims never wanted to depart the political battlefield and fought to the top for the causes he believed in. The longtime Pittbsurg resident, a legend within the East Contra Costa County community and beyond, lost his battle with cancer on May 22. He was 79.
“Willie was important to all aspects of the community,” said Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover. “Willie will be remembered for always being there. Bringing people together and making sure policymakers were aware of the issues.”
A lifelong educator and longtime East County NAACP education officer, Mims advocated for college students and families from across the NAACP district, including Solano County, where he had worked as an English teacher. That meant advocating for college students and bringing larger discrimination issues to light, reminiscent of in 2015 when he helped negotiate a groundbreaking agreement with the Antioch Unified School District and the local NAACP to handle the disparity in suspensions and expulsions of black and disabled students.
In 2013, he began working with Antioch schools on the African-American Male Achievement Initiative, with the goal of eliminating achievement gaps between black students and their peers.
“He was all about standing up for people, and one of the things he really stood up for was equity in education,” Glover said.
NAACP President Odessa Lefrancois said Mims was “highly respected” and willing to research and pursue any issue he thought was essential, and ultimately “always had a solution.”
“We have lost a great civil rights activist and friend who always fought for justice and equality for all,” said Lefrancois, who had been friends with him for greater than 25 years. “It didn't matter who you were.”
Marcus Mims said his father's passion was helping people and he believed he could try this in politics “by trying to put the right people in the right places.”
He added that his father was an excellent male role model who helped hundreds of college children and families over time, advocated for them and attended education planning meetings – all in his spare time.
“They (the parents) called my dad for help and he always answered,” he said. “He was still selling dinners and donating to fundraisers (until shortly before his death).”
Marcus Mims said his father taught him to “be a good person” and was a loyal husband to his wife, Darlene. An avid reader – especially about African history – Mims at all times gave his children puzzles to resolve once they were young.
“He wanted to make people think,” he said.
“His quote was 'They want us to forget,'” Mims' daughter Dana Mims said of her father. “And that's why he always fought so hard.”
Although education was his passion, Mims also took on city councils, county supervisors, and others—anywhere he believed he could make a difference.
“He was a fighter,” said Merl Craft, a former Pittsburg City Councilwoman. “He was all over East County, but his biggest impact was here in Pittsburg.”
Pittsburg City Councilwoman Shanelle Scales-Preston said she was like an “adopted daughter” to Mims, having grown up within the neighborhood where he lived. She recalled that Mims was a key voice against the WesPac crude oil project in Pittsburg in 2015 because “he thought it was unsafe.”
“This is our living legend,” she said of the black civil rights activist. “He is the one who stands up against injustice and makes sure that he fights for the freedom of all people.”
In 2020, Mims, then 75, participated in all six Black Lives Matter marches in Pittsburg, including walking the five miles from Antioch City Hall to Pittsburg City Hall, refusing to just accept a ride despite the warmth, Scales-Preston said.
Mims is a native of McCaul, Louisiana, grew up in West Pittsburg, and graduated from Pacifica High School in 1963. He entered the political scene on the age of 17, distributing leaflets in support of the Rumford Fair Housing Act to combat racial discrimination within the California housing market.
After graduating from Diablo Valley College and San Francisco State, he earned his teaching certificate and later his master's in English and artistic writing. But he couldn't discover a full-time teaching job and as an alternative worked instead teacher and part-time in food service on the VA hospital to support his family, Dana Mims said. He was eventually hired by the Vallejo City Unified School District, where he remained until his retirement in 2009.
Mims co-founded the Black Political Association in Pittsburg and the East Contra Costa County NAACP branch, was a former mentor of the Safe In My Brother's Arms program, and a former board member of the East County Boys and Girls Club.
For his work for racial justice and equality, he was honored with the Dr. Martin Luther King Freedom Fighter Award in 2008, received the Key to the City of Antioch in February, and was named Contra Costa Humanitarian of the Year in January, amongst other honors.
Mims has also volunteered for the Greater Faith Food Pantry, is a former representative on the Hiring Policy Review Committee for Contra Costa Community College, a member of the Equity & Disproportionality Committee for Mt. Diablo Unified School District, and the LCAP and LCFF committees for Vallejo Unified School District.
He is predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Darlene Lea-Mims, his parents, Edward and Lillie Mims, his sisters, Wilma Douglas and Isabel Medford, and his brothers, Melvin Mims, Mack Mims and Walter Mims. He is survived by his two children, Dana and Marcus (Cassandra) Mims, his sisters, Hilda Murdoch of Pittsburg, Nancy Mims-Burt of Pittsburg, Ruth Mims-Jemerson of Oakland and Melodye Montgomery of Alameda, his brother-in-law, Larry Harold, six grandchildren and various other members of the family.
The service can be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Delta Bay Community Church, 1020 E. Tregallas Road in Antioch. To watch online, visit Zoom link ID: 740 600 9196, password: 2024. Donations in his name for the Willie J. Mims Education Scholarship for East County Youth are being accepted at www.obituare.com/willie-james-mims-obituary-133141/.
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