I am writing this to share my experiences with Christopher Menvell Williams to document his behavior with the hope that it will help others in the future and will lead to people holding him accountable for his actions. My experience with Chris has led me to believe that he is a narcissistic megalomaniac that thrives on creating unnecessary drama.
I am a resident of Southwest, D.C. and first met Chris through a mutual concern for social justice in our neighborhood. My wife and I considered Chris a close friend of ours, so much so that we invited him to attend our family Thanksgiving. We worked closely with Chris in the creation of the neighborhood volunteer group, SW Action. It was through our work in SW Action where I witnessed Chris’ behavior and actions and realized that his partnership came with conduct I was uncomfortable with.
While working with Chris on several different projects, I found him to be condescending and unwilling to take feedback. For example, when providing feedback for articles, papers, and legal briefs, Chris would claim his suggestions as the common sense approach and that to do otherwise was not wise. On one occasion, during a SW Action meeting, Chris said something to the group that I did not agree with and so I shook my head. After the meeting, Chris told me that it was disrespectful for me to shake my head and that I should stop. I disagreed but told him that I would. In return, I suggested he read the book Nonviolent Communication to learn how to communicate with people in a way that is supportive and inclusionary. He responded that he had been told that he was hard-headed in the past, but did not make any commitment to reading the book or changing his behavior. This conversation concerned me, but I was willing to work through this, since I viewed justice as the bigger goal. Unfortunately, this was not just my experience but the experience of several others in the group. Eventually, Chris was removed from the group in early 2021 after a friend shared an email with me in which Chris lied about the group. On February 21, 2021, Chris wrote:
We having (sic) some organizational reshuffling. SW Action is likely not going to last for much longer since several African Americans (including me) have withdrawn their support. The group has expressed a desire not to be actively engaged with the Africa (sic) American or low-income community.
This statement is false (and SW Action still stands). No other African Americans withdrew their support. In fact, the number of African Americans in the group grew, and at no time did the group express a desire to not be actively engaged with the African American or low-income community. In reality, the complete opposite was true. The group worked with Ward 6 Councilmember, Charles Allen, to find better housing for a resident that lived in Greenleaf just a couple of months prior. The group wanted its membership to be diverse in race and income, but was also cognizant that it was new, hadn’t formed a solid idea of its purpose, and wanted to make sure its outreach served a purpose. One of the members the group, an older Black lady, who has lived in the neighborhood since the mid-1970s and has been very active in social justice activities in the neighborhood, shared her wisdom with the group stating that the relationships we sought to create will not happen overnight but will take time. Time that Chris was unwilling to wait and work for as he stated on November 2, 2020:
All work groups need to immediately find at least two members from low to moderate incomes to join by their workgroup by the next meeting. At least one must live in public housing or be a voucher holder. Do what you need to do to get those members – flyer, table, call, fax, fly a plane with a banner, run around in your underwear.
I did not like this approach because it resembled a quota system where numbers, rather than genuine connection, appeared to be the goal. I prefer growing at the speed of trust rather than purely on numbers. I understand that in organizing there will be differing opinions. That’s fine. However, I believe that Chris’ actions afterwards were unbecoming of someone who cares about social justice or understands diversity of thought.
I and others felt it unfortunate that Chris had turned to bashing our group and being unpleasant to members and assumed that his departure would be the end of his hostility towards myself and others. We were wrong. I will describe two instances of Chris’ aberrant behavior: 1) in one instance he chose to spread flyers with incorrect information to residents in Southwest that included my photo and approximately where I lived; 2) in another instance, he spread lies about SW Action, saying that the group, without indicating who or when, would only go to public housing residents “if we need something” and that public housing residents would “slow (us) or weigh (us) down.” He provided no evidence that the group or an individual said this. There is no support for such quotes on the group’s website, social media pages, meeting notes, or within the Google Group the group uses to communicate.
1) In March 2021, members of SW Action, which included residents of Capitol Park Plaza & Towers, learned that the building was on the market. Chris also lived in this development. SW Action thought this could be an opportunity for the residents to exercise DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), which gives tenants the first opportunity to purchase a building and the possibility to own their units, regardless of income. In preparation for the effort, we spoke with a former tenant organizer for guidance. We received some pointers, learned there was no active tenant association, and secured the assistance of two organizers from the Latino Economic Development Center and Housing Counseling Services, both of whom specialize in helping residents with TOPA.
Upon our first attempt at flyering, we encountered Chris who called our flyer a “scare tactic” and provided inaccurate information about the tenants needing a waiver to apply for TOPA. Before flyering for a second time, two members of the organizing group went to Chris’ apartment and had a conversation with him in hopes of preventing any unnecessary problems with the effort. The two thought the meeting went well, so we flyered the buildings and successfully held two meetings with residents. We flyered again in preparation for a third meeting. Instead of attending the meeting and airing any grievances there, Chris circulated two different flyers using false information to smear myself and SW Action. His fliers called for a separate meeting to be held on the same day and at the same time as our meeting. This caused confusion and unneeded division among the residents. After the third meeting, I withdrew from the effort as I did not want my existence to be the reason the tenants did not form a tenant association. I later learned from a resident at Capitol Park Plaza that my absence caused a problem. The tenant wrote in an email to me:
Then, you abruptly abandoned those organizing efforts, thereby allowing one of your rogue, erstwhile SW DC Action members named Chris Williams to fill the vacuum your disappearance created. I believe that by failing to answer Williams’s smear campaign against yourselves and pressing forward with your organizing activities, you incalculably set back the cause of forming a functional tenant association at these buildings.
In a later email, the tenant continued:
In hindsight, knowing what you knew about Chris, I can now only wish that people were warned beforehand about what I imagine is his full-blown personality disorder . . . Please understand that I feel the residents at Capitol Park are now being victimized as well by Chris.
Part of Chris’ doctoral research included a project called Project SW. I was once a “board member” on this project, even though I did not know who else was a board member and there hadn’t been any meetings. Another “board member” also shared this confusion. She wrote, in response to an invitation she received on November 24th for a meeting that was supposed to take place on the 27th (the day after Thanksgiving), “Also, we are called board members. That’s a bit presumptuous when I barely know what this is all about and whether I have the time or interest to be involved.” I expressed my concern to Chris’ professors, asking if his flyers were part of his Project SW. I received a single response from a professor saying that he had forwarded it to Chris for his response. I never heard anything back from the professors. I did, however, in June 2021, receive a lawsuit in the mail from Chris, suing me for $10,000 claiming that my email to his professors, “damaged his ability to obtain quality letters of recommendation” and that given the “lifelong impact on [his] career advancements through letters of recommendation of diminished quality for scholarship, promotions, and fellowship” he is requesting the maximum small claim amount of $10,000 [more on this lawsuit in the March 2023 update].
Although I withdrew from the Capitol Park Plaza effort, I was contacted by a resident in November of 2021 who sought my help in how to deal with Chris. The resident was serving as the secretary of the tenant association and was running into similar issues with Chris as I had. He asked how best to deal with him. I didn’t have much to offer and the tenant secretary later resigned to avoid the drama that Chris had fostered in February of 2022 (you can read the letter he sent the other board members of the tenant association regarding Chris’ behavior – click to view PDF).
2) In October 2021, after members of SW Action wrote a story in the Southwester about lead issues at Greenleaf Gardens, a public housing community in the neighborhood, Chris used his newsletter to claim that SW Action members said they would only work with public housing residents “if we need something” and that they would “slow (us) or weigh (us) down.” Despite putting quotations around these phrases, Chris did not provide any evidence as to who said and when the alleged quotes were made. Chris attributes the quotes to the whole group, stating that “they” (SW Action) said these things rather than an individual. There is no proof of these quotes on SW Action’s website, social media pages, in their meeting notes, or within the group’s Google Group messages. Chris would later go on a podcast to spread the lie about the group. Chris sent a copy of the newsletter and the podcast to various SW Action members stating “You should be aware of the damage that you’re causing. I am most disappointed in Coy, Pam, [name of former mentee and co-author of article], and African Americans in your group.” Before sending the newsletter, Chris sent a threatening email to his former mentee about the article, writing, “You are about to pay some real consequences for that article you wrote. What you did was poverty pimping. I am going to forward you the latest issue when it goes live this evening. I do not want to interact with you any longer.” In my opinion, this is extremely bizarre behavior from a mentor, who not only suggested the article be written, but also for introducing the mentee to the group. The mentee has shared with me several stories of Chris’ behavior that seem to contradict how he presents himself to the public and others.
I have decided to share all this to document Chris’ actions and behavior so that people who encounter him in the future, and experience similar issues, will know that they’re not alone, and that there is a pattern. I believe Chris demonstrates megalomania and narcisstic behavior. He believes he is the only person who can fight for social justice and that no one can work with public housing residents in Southwest without his approval. I believe that to transform our society into one that is better, we must not only speak our values but live them as well. Chris promotes the ideas of liberation and love; yet, he engages in behavior which, in my estimation, is a contradiction to those values. We will not reach our collective goals without accountability and behavior that will hold us back.
March 2023 UPDATE: After the $10,000 lawsuit was dismissed because of improper service, Chris sued me again for $70,000, largely based on this blog post. In response to the most recent complaint, I filed an anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion to recoup attorney fees. At the first hearing, the judge gave Chris more time to reconsider his actions because he (the Judge) didn’t think Chris fully understood the case or the consequences of the anti-SLAPP motion. A month later, at the second hearing, instead of appearing and arguing the merits of his claim, Chris no-showed, and the case was dismissed for want of prosecution (please read the motion to dismiss I filed to understand just how ridiculous the whole lawsuit was).
I think it is also worth sharing some other lawsuits Chris has been filing the last couple of years.
- Case number: 2022-CA-004082-B. Lawsuit against the former secretary of the tenant association he is a part of for $30,000 for libel and slander (the case was dismissed due to improper service);
- Case number: 2023-CAB-000154. Lawsuit against the DC government stating that the noise from construction is illegal. He requests that no development take place within 5 blocks of his residence, that all current construction within 5 blocks be enjoined, and to award him $3 million in punitive and compensatory damages;
- Case number: 2022-CAB-005202. Lawsuit against the DC government regarding the Comprehensive Plan. He is requesting that the occupancy permits for the Wharf phase II, Waterfront Station II, and Randall School developments all be revoked, despite all the buildings already being built and inhabited.
- Case number: 2022-CA-002530-B (DCist’s, Martin Austermuhle, tweeted about this). Lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections arguing that since it didn’t publish the certified election results in the D.C. Register, several actions should take place, including:
- “Declare that all policies based on executive and legislative decision (sic) between 1992-2008 and 2010 to July 29, 2022 to be unlawful due to not having legal effect until July 29, 2022.
- Order all District policies to revert to 1992.
- Order new elections for all DC elected officials, barring all current DC Council and mayoral office holders for gross negligence in ensuring the rule of law.
- Revoke all construction permits in the 20024 zip code.
- Order that all political appointments including but not limited to the Zoning Commission, Office of Planning, District of Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners be immediately rescinded.”
October 2023 update: Chris’ run as the President of the Tenant Association at Capitol Park has been fraught with problems. For one, despite the by-laws saying that a minimum of 9 members must serve, the Board has only ever had, at most, 5. Thus, all the decisions that have been made are unlawful. A board member at the residence has been alerting Chris’ poor management to Councilmembers, elected officials, and other people in positions of power to make sure the board works in compliance with its own bylaws and that an affordable housing opportunity for low and moderate income residents is not wasted. Please read the email from the Board member below:
To: Mayors Office Community of Relations and Services
My name is Diva Samai and this is a follow up complaint about Attorney Paul Strauss, Christopher Williams, Jamila Garrett and how they continue to misrepresent The Capital Park Plaza Tenants Association.
Recently in the month of October 2023 I updated the register agent because the board is operating out of compliance because of Attorney Strauss and the current President Christopher Williams who is in illegal possession of the tenants association bank account and atm card. Mr. Williams has been ask[ed] to hand over banking information for the last 2 years and as recently as September 13th 2023 and has not done so.
He even recruited new boards members with the hopes of having them to what I believe unknowingly relinquish the tenants association members TOPA rights by giving disinformation that tenants with housing subsidies will not be afforded a mortgage. These are lies! Elections were held on September 29th at the Associations Annual Meeting Follow Up.
Mr. Williams, Jamila Garret and Attorney Strauss as I proved via email wanted to accept that stupid settlement offer from the landlords out of economic concerns. The offer consists of $500k in building repairs and communal activities when it would take an estimate of $121 million dollars to repair the complex.
I am writing this email because after I updated the current board members and registered agent via the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs I got an email about the registration agent being changed and I am sure Mr. Williams did this. The date is October 27th 2023. Mr. Williams has not produced recent bank statements and is operating out of the tenants association bylaws. He was never elected Treasurer and I believe he has plans to accept the $500,000 the landlords wants to give the tenants association board directly because he has sole access to the boards bank account. I also believe he has wipe[d] out the bank account altogether which is why he has not handed over the account.
I am asking that Attorney Strauss remove himself from the tenants association board and no longer represent us because of his misconduct and misrepresentation of the association.
Please note this matter has been forwarded to the Mayors office and she has legal jurisdiction to step in. I also forward this matter to Eleanor Holmes-Norton Office, Ward 6 Representative Charles Allen and the ANC with the goals of having Mr. Williams, Ms. Garrett and Strauss removed and ban[ne]d from the association all together.
To Mr. Williams, Ms. Garret and Mr. Strauss please don’t contact me regarding this matter. Your services are no longer needed. Don’t come to my apartment door either.
Kindly awaiting your reply.
Best,
Diva Samai
Christopher Menvell Williams MPH
Southwest Voice
Public Health Liberation
DC Grassroots Planning Coalition
