On January 15, 1926, a child was born to a teenage blind mother. The child would grow up to be a civil rights activist and politician, Hosea Williams. William’s maternal grandmother would pass away giving birth to a child. Hosea and his daughter lived on the grandparents’ farm. Williams was 14 when he fled from his farm to become friends with a white girl. Williams had a few jobs up until WWII. He served in an all-black unit, was badly wounded, and received a Purple Heart.
At 23 years old, Williams received his high school diploma and enrolled at Morris Brown College to earn a bachelor’s of Chemistry. Williams was a research chemist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 50s. Williams’ civil rights career began in 1952 when he joined the NAACP Savannah chapter. Williams was almost killed by a drunken bus driver who served him water from a fountain that was only for whites. Williams became vice president of the NAACP, which was W.W. Law’s first civil rights organization. Williams also assisted in the integration and construction of the South’s first passenger railway. Williams participated in voter registration campaigns during the summer 1961. In 1963, Williams, who was leading the Chatham County Crusades, was sentenced to a little over two months in jail, the longest time any civil rights leader was given. After the riots following his arrest, 2 stores were set ablaze. Mills B. Jane Jr. joined other prominent whites to form a committee which secured Williams’ release and helped desegregate that community.
Williams also joined the SLCL at Martian Luther King Jr’s request in 1963. Williams was also a leader of the march, which was known as Bloody Sunday because it featured police brutality. The current president made it mandatory that the vote be passed after he saw it broadcast on TV. Williams maintained his close friendship to MLK through this, and was even there when MLK was assassinated at Memphis. After Lowery believed that Williams wasn’t focusing on his position as national executivedirector, he removed him from office in 1979. During Williams time at the SLCL Williams started the Hosea Feed the Hungry & Homeless programme, which he led for three decades. The organization is now run by his daughter.
Williams was elected as the state senator in 1974. He remained there until 1985. Williams lost the U.S. senate race, but was elected in the same year to Atlanta City Council. He served 5 years. His wife was elected the first African American woman in state-wide office. Williams gained national fame in 1987, when he marched into a predominantly white county against the Ku Klux Klan. The march was organized to honor King since it fell on MLK day. They were confronted by 400 to 500 Klan sympathizers and members. The march was accompanied by 2,000 national guardsmen. This was, unsurprisingly, the largest state-wide protest. When they got to the Klan, a list was made that included demands for a biracial jury, fair wage and return property to African Americans who were expelled in 1912. Williams later filed an action against the Klan. He awarded $950,000 to the marchers, which was roughly equivalent to 2 million dollars.
Williams, who had been fighting cancer for 3 years, died on November 17, 2000. His iconic denim overalls, red shirt & red sneakers were worn by thousands as mourners flocked to his grave. In honor of him, the State Capital has a portrait taken by his wife. Williams was a significant figure in the civil-rights movement because he stood against what society expected him to do and then, seeing the abuse of African Americans in America he decided to change. He wouldn’t be as beaten as King, but it would propel him into politics. The actions he took to advocate for it would make him equal in power to Reverend Martian Luther King Jr. or Rosa Parks.
Hosea Williams is a man I want to collage with. He earned a master’s in psychology at a time when he was not accepted for his skin color and was treated unfairly as if he wouldn’t make it. Hosea is someone everyone can look up at and say that Hosea was a great man. He did something, achieved something, that would be remembered for a long time. Everyone wants to leave a lasting impression on the world. I believe that Hosea Williams was able to achieve this feat and inspire others.
