Bert Williams was born and raised in Texarkana, Texas. He moved to Fort Worth in 1955 and worked in Ridglea Country Club while in college at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas. He taught at a local high school and then got into the insurance business, and simultaneously worked with Axa Advisors group.
In 1971 Williams first got involved in city politics when he ran for the Fort Worth school board. After his opponent lied about Williams’ support for a candidate for school board president, a local civil rights leader and lawyer, L. Clifford Davis, represented him in a lawsuit and they successfully litigated the case.
He served as a Fort Worth city councilman from 1979 to 1989. He was mayor Pro Tempore during the last five years of his time on the council, coinciding with the divestment movement in Fort Worth. Williams also served on the Board of Trustees of the Employees’ Retirement Fund at this time. Along with Jim Bagsby, Williams represented one of the two black districts in the city after Fort Worth moved from at-large voting to single-member districts. He founded the Texas Association of Black City Council Members (TABCCM) under the Texas Municipal League and served as its first president. He now resides in Fort Worth with his wife.