Bill Ritchie

William Ritchie

President of the District of Columbia Society,
Sons of the American Revolution

Description:

Discuss how the society plans on engaging its members and chapters across the country to promote the presence and contributions of Americans of African descent during the American Revolution; steps it will take to reunite families with their patriot ancestors (membership outreach); and how the society will use its libraries and museum(s) to facilitate a broader narrative of Americans of African descent. 

Biography:

Mr. Ritchie is currently the  the first African American state level president in the 133-year history of the Sons of the American Revolution. He was inducted into this organization on July 4, 2016, as the result of proving lineage to his 5^th great grandfather, William Parks, who was shot, killed and scalped by the Indians working for the British during May 1776. He has since identified and proven his ancestry to 16 additional Revolutionary War Patriots.

Ritchie is a 1971 Howard University graduate, and alumnus of the University of the District of Columbia and George Washington University.

Upon graduation, Ritchie joined the Metropolitan Police Department, retiring in 1994 as the Chief of Detectives and former Homicide Commander in the most powerful city in the world. During his tenure, he led or participated in many major criminal investigations including the attempt assassination of President Ronald Reagan during 1981, the Air Florida Airplane crash in 1982, and the Shotgun Stalker spree murder investigation during 1993. His other commander level assignments included the Public Integrity Branch, the Organized Crime Branch, and Director of the Medical Services Division. He was the only member of the department trained to conduct investigative hypnosis sessions on victims and witnesses of crimes.  

Upon retirement, he moved on to other positions, including Director, Office of Decedent Affairs at the Washington Hospital Center, Project Manager for the District of Columbia Public School’s Security Force and Director of Operations for a nationally known security company that in part serviced contracts for the US Navy and the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. He retired again in 2006. From time to time he is called upon by CNN and other national and local media to provide commentary as a Homicide Expert.

Ritchie currently has more than 35,000 DNA matches with individuals across the country and has assisted five of those matches, who were adoptees, to identify and locate their birth parents. His family history is published in “The Virginia Kaleidoscope” which is in the African American History Section in the Library of Congress and on the shelf as a source at the DAR Library in DC. Until recently, Ritchie was a member of his family’s board of directors, The Reynolds/Claytor Family Reunion Inc. He formally served as the family liaison for the Claytor Family Scholarship endowment at Washington & Lee University that was established in 1996. The endowment has awarded more than 2.5 million dollars in scholarships to deserving students. He previously served as chairman of the Mary Claytor Family Scholarship that since 2002 has awarded 49 scholarships to graduating high school seniors in the family.

With a high percentage of Cameroonian DNA, Ritchie, in 2016, was accepted as a son of Cameroon by the NW FONS Council and given the Cameroonian name of Shey during their naming ceremony. His ancestry in part includes the Fulani People of NW Cameroon. In a recent ceremony His Royal Majesty Fon of Kiluun Kingdom in Cameroon bestowed upon him the Royal Title of Sheey Ngiri and he is officially known as Shey Bill. Last year he became an ambassador for BFU-USA and also last year was coronated in the homeland as a Shey by the late Fon of Kiluum Fondom, HRM Fon Fondap. This honor along with being elected as the first African American state level president in the 133-year history of the Sons of the American Revolution within the last year are milestones this kid from the hills of Beckley WV never imagined.

Between 1998 and 2006, Ritchie served as a member of the Boards of Directors for the National Kidney Foundation NCA and the Greater Washington Urban League. Bill has been married since 1974 to Alfreda Holloway Ritchie, a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard. They have one daughter, Arian Ritchie Joiner, son-in-law Kristopher, and three grandchildren Delant, Devin, and Destiny. 

Bill is also the author of A Black Man’s Journey to the Sons of the American Revolution in 2021. Between 1998 and 2006, Ritchie served as a member of the Boards of Directors for the National Kidney Foundation NCA and the Greater Washington Urban League.