Derek Williams

Derek Williams is a highly motivated professional. As an activist, he is a respected voice in the Community where he dedicates his time to influence social change. Derek is a former elite athlete, he was the Commonwealth and European Heavyweight boxing champion and uses his position as a former champion to influence positive change.

Derek is a qualified Wellbeing Practioner and Motivational speaker who travels globally to empower groups and organisations. In addition, he has also been a TV Sports Pundit on Sky TV and is a feature writer. Derek is also the President of the Equalities Boxing Forum, which looks at challenges faced by black and minority ethnic professional boxers.

Born and raised in London, he experienced the uprisings of the 1980’s, which tackled police harassment which was disproportionately executed through Stop and Search (SUS laws) of the black communities. As a schoolboy in uniform, he was also stopped and searched. The traumatic effects of those childhood experiences, is such that even now as a law abiding citizen, without a criminal record, he still feels the urge sometimes to change direction through fear of being stopped, whenever he hears or sees the police behind him.

His worries carry over to his son, a university student who has been stopped and questioned by the police for no apparent reason on a few occasions while driving. Derek is particularly concerned about about youth violence and the impact of this on young people. In 2019, he founded the Parents Against Guns and Knives (PAGAK ) Campaign. Derek is also the Chairman of the Pedro Club in Hackney, which is one of the oldest youth clubs of its type in London.

info@sweetdwilliams.com