Bonita Williams facts for kids

Bonita Williams was a brave leader, poet, and activist in Harlem, New York, during the 1930s. This was a time called the Great Depression, when many people faced tough times. Bonita worked hard to help people, especially Black Americans and workers.

She wrote poems and gave speeches about important topics. These included the right for Black people to vote and fair treatment for workers. She spoke out against unfairness based on race and class. Bonita also led several groups in Harlem. These included the Harlem Unemployment Council, the Harlem Tenants’ League, and the League of Struggle for Negro Rights (LSNR).

Later, in the late 1940s, Bonita was a key member of the Communist Party in Harlem. She was the Secretary of Organizing for the Harlem Communist Party. She also directed the United Tenants and Consumer’s Organization. In these roles, she encouraged many Black men and women to join the party. She wanted more African Americans to support the party's ideas during a time when racial separation was growing.

Fighting for Change

Bonita Williams was a strong activist and leader in the Communist Party. She worked with other important leaders to fight for what was right.

Helping the Scottsboro Boys

One important fight was for the Scottsboro Boys. These were nine young Black men who were wrongly accused of a crime. Bonita Williams and another activist, Audley Moore, worked together to help them. They marched, wrote letters, and gathered support to free these men. This effort is said to be what led Bonita to join the Communist Party.

Supporting Workers at WPA

Bonita also helped people while working at the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA was a government program that created jobs during the Great Depression. Bonita helped create a union there for women of color. This union supported Italian, Puerto Rican, and Black women in the late 1930s. She also organized a protest with Richard B. Moore against British forces. This protest was about the shooting of striking Jamaican sugar cane workers in Harlem.

Standing Up for Harlem Communities

Bonita Williams led other protests too. She stood up against people in Harlem who were hurting working-class communities of color. For example, she protested against store owners who charged too much for meat. These owners also refused to hire workers of color. This was part of a campaign called "Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Work."

In one of her campaigns, Bonita successfully convinced butchers in Harlem to lower their high meat prices by 25%. This happened during the Great Depression. As the head of the Harlem Workers Alliance, Bonita also organized efforts to stop evictions. She also fought against cuts to welfare payments, which helped people in need.

Her Role in the Communist Party

Bonita Williams joined the Communist Party after working on the Scottsboro Boys Trial. She worked closely with Audley Moore on that case. Later, Bonita and Audley traveled to the Soviet Union. They learned about how people lived there and made connections.

After their trip, Bonita and Audley believed that the Soviet Union could be a good example. They thought it could show how Black women in the United States could gain more freedom. They brought these ideas back to Harlem and continued their work as communists.

Bonita Williams was a well-known member of the Communist Party. Because of this, the United States government paid attention to her. A man named Walter S. Steele spoke to a government committee about her. He confirmed that Bonita was an important member of the Communist Party in New York. He also named many other communists across the country.

Poems and Speeches

Bonita Williams's writings were often published in the Harlem Liberator. This was an African American newspaper during the Great Depression era. Her poems and comments focused on class inequality, racial discrimination, and workers' rights.

One of her famous poems was "Fifteen Million Negroes Speak." It was published on October 14, 1933. The poem encouraged poor Black people to demand a national Bill of Civil Rights from the U.S. government. A line from the poem says: "We must demand of the government Negro masses’ democratic rights." This line shows how much Bonita cared about civil rights for Black Americans in Harlem.

We don't know much about her other poems. However, her speeches and poetry were highly respected at the time. They were especially popular among poor African Americans who hoped to improve their lives.