"There's a good-ol'-boys system here. I'm speaking just of African-Americans.

"Our congressmen, except (Jim) Matheson, all receive F's for their voting in civil rights and voting with the NAACP. That is unacceptable.

"That's why there's a lot of work that needs to be done here."

Her opponents don't disagree with her; they just don't believe she's the one to do it.

After moving to Salt Lake City, Williams was groomed for NAACP leadership by longtime president Alberta Henry, who was seen as a kindly, maternal figure in the community.

Later, after Williams became president, she and Henry had such a falling out that Henry tried to reclaim the office in 2002 at the age of 82 but lost a controversial election.

Henry died last year. She would not discuss Williams for an article written by Don Merrill in 2002 for Salt Lake City Weekly but did comment about how people were feeling about the organization under Williams' leadership:

"They mad at it," she said. "Ooooh, they mad!"

They're still mad.

"I am so disgusted with that group under her that I refuse to have anything to do with them," says Ron Stallworth, a former chairman of Utah's Black Advisory Council. "I do not support (Williams and Lewis). The NAACP is a necessary, viable group. I do not think that of them. Everyone recognizes she is wrong, but nobody wants to challenge her. I've been very outspoken about how wrong she and Ed are."

James Evans, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, who also happens to be black, says, "Nothing is being accomplished with the organization. ... People in the African-American community are frustrated."

"She should be a recognized leader in the black community, but she's not representative of the black community," says Charles Henderson, a longtime NAACP member who serves on the Minority Advisory Committee and the Martin Luther King Commission.

There also has been frequent turnover on the NAACP Salt Lake chapter board. Two of the most enduring members, Allen Holmes and Curley Jones, refused to be interviewed. Lewis explains that this is a matter of NAACP policy — only the president can speak for the group.

Charlotte Starks, a former NAACP vice president, said, "I'd rather not talk about my experience at the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP. It wasn't a great experience. I'd just like it to support people who can't support themselves. It doesn't do it."

When contacted at her home in California, Bonnie Dew, a former member of the Salt Lake NAACP board, said, "Is there something positive happening there? I don't think there is. I'm skeptical anything will change."