The two visitors met, and after conversing, Williams saw a chance to have the prospect of employing black Americans to work in the Congo emerge. .
Williams attended an anti-slavery conference in Brussels, and initially Williams had wrote in a newspaper article from Belgium that Leopold II was "a pleasant and entertaining conversationalist- (106). Indeed, this was a common tactic that Leopold used to charm everyone who visited. In time, Williams made an agreement to take 40 skilled black Americans to the Congo to work, and to also write a book on the residing area. However, after a six month visit to the Congo on foot, a distinct change in attitude could be seen with Williams. At this point, George Washington Williams had seen enough to write an accusing letter back to Leopold, in which he openly states the situation. He then goes on to charge Leopold's regime of the following crimes: fooling Africans into signing over their land, having military bases cause massive amounts of death and devastation, unnecessary cruelty to prisoners, lying about the construction of hospitals and schools, rape, and slavery (ironic since the fazade Leopold put on was indicative of being anti-slavery).
George Washington Williams adjusted his stance and viewpoint on King Leopold and the Congo after he became aware of how truly miserable the Congolese were. This transformation occurred specifically after he spent the six months there, where he could see firsthand the extent of disregard for human life. "Although few were interested in moving to Africa permanently, George Washington Williams was not the only black American of his time who wanted to work there. The Reverend William Sheppard had the same ambition, and probably for the same unspoken reason: this might be a way to escape the humiliating barriers of segregation- (152). .
William Sheppard was born in 1865, and when he was of age he similarly attended an upscale college much like Williams.
