Tipsheet

'A Great Loss for America': RIP Walter Williams

Walter Williams, the John M. Olin distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University and longtime columnist, has died at the age of 84.

Williams began writing a weekly column, "A Minority View," in 1981, the penultimate one was titled "Black Education Tragedy Is New," and published Wednesday. According to Creators, his final column will publish next week, which will be available at Townhall, where his columns have appeared for more than 25 yearsHe is also the author of 10 books, including the most recent, "Race and Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination?" and "Up from the Projects: An Autobiography," and published more than 150 scholarly articles, according to Economic Policy Journal.

"Walter was a great communicator of ideas and a prolific, provocative and uncompromising writer," wrote fellow GMU colleague Veronique de Rugy. "His voice, his happy-warrior demeanor, his cosmopolitan views, his endless fight on behalf of those with no political voices, and his generosity to all of us at Mason will be missed."

Tributes to Williams, whom his colleagues called a "freedom fighter," flooded social media.

Update: Thomas Sowell, Williams's best friend, penned a touching tribute, which is available to read at Townhall.