William S. Willis '''William S. Willis, Jr. '''was born July 11, 1921 in [[Waco, Texas]]. He was an ethnohistorian, and an early pioneer in African American anthropology. He is best known for his publication of Skeletons in the Anthropological Closet. He was the first Black scholar to the faculty of Southern Methodist University. While at SMU he was instrumental in the establishing of the African American Studies Program. ==Early life== Willis was an only child born in Waco, Texas. His family moved to [[Dallas,Texas]] when he was very young. Both of his parents were wealthy, and college educated. His father was William S. Willis Sr. He was a high school principal of a black high school. It is noted that his father resigned due to unfair treatment from the school board. After resigning from being a principal he started a construction company to build homes for poor black people. His father was a grand chancellor of the Colored Knights of Pythians of T