Evans, William Leonard, Sr.
(born: 1885 - died: September 8, 1966)Born in Louisville, KY to Susie and David Evans, Sr., William L. Evans, Sr. received an A.B. from Fisk University in 1909. He taught school in Louisville in 1910, took advanced study at Columbia University from 1910 to 1911, and earned his M.A. from the University of Buffalo in 1930.
Evans was Industrial Secretary of the Chicago Urban League, 1919-1923; worked with Plato and Evans Architectural Firm, 1923-1927; and was executive secretary of the Buffalo Urban League beginning in 1927. He had also been a teacher before moving to Buffalo, where he was a member of the Buffalo Commission in the New York State Commission Against Discrimination.
Evans published three articles: "Federal Housing Brings Racial Segregation to Buffalo"; "Race, Fear and Housing"; and "The Negro Community in 1948."
William L. Evans, Sr. died September 8, 1966 in Buffalo. He was the father of W. Leonard Evans, Jr.
For more see Who's Who in Colored America, 1933-37 & 1950; Strangers in the Land of Paradise, by L. S. Williams; and "William Leonard Evans Sr." at the Uncrowned Community Builders website (includes photograph).