Edith L. Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Edith L. Williams
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Williams in 1981
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| Born | August 17, 1887 Saint Thomas, Danish Virgin Islands
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| Died | June 9, 1987 (aged 99) Charlotte Amalie, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
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| Nationality | Danish, American |
| Occupation | teacher, women's rights activist and suffragist |
| Years active | 1900–1945 |
Edith L. Williams (born August 17, 1887 – died June 9, 1987) was an important teacher and a champion for women's rights in the United States Virgin Islands. She worked hard to make sure women could vote.
Edith Williams was the very first woman to try and vote in the Virgin Islands. When she wasn't allowed, she went to court with two other women, Eulalie Stevens and Anna M. Vessup. They won their case! After that, women in the Virgin Islands who could read and owned property were allowed to vote. A statue of Williams was later placed in a park in Charlotte Amalie. Also, the James Madison Elementary School was renamed the Edith L. Williams School in 1981 to honor her.
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Early Life and Education
Edith L. Williams was born on August 17, 1887. Her birthplace was the island of Saint Thomas, which was then part of the Danish Virgin Islands. Her parents were both from another island called Saint Croix.
When she was young, Edith was a talented athlete. She played cricket for the Harlem Virgin Islands Girls team. She even traveled to the United States several times to compete in matches. Edith was good at both batting and bowling in cricket. She also helped start a girls' softball team in St. Thomas. Edith finished her schooling at age 13. She studied at missionary schools run by the Moravian Church.
Edith Williams' Teaching Career
In 1900, Edith Williams began her career as a teacher. She started at the Moravian Town School in Charlotte Amalie. Early in her teaching journey, she joined other women to improve things for teachers and students.
Forming the Teachers' Association
These dedicated women created the St. Thomas Teachers' Association. Their goal was to set up a Teachers' Institute. This institute would train new teachers and help experienced teachers get better at their jobs. Members of this Association later taught students who wanted to continue learning after the 9th grade. They helped the first high school students graduate in 1931. This was a big step in establishing high school education on the island.
Teaching in New Schools
In 1917, Williams moved to George Washington Elementary School. This was the same year the Danish West Indies were sold to the United States. The old Danish law from 1906 still governed the islands.
In 1920, women in the United States gained the right to vote. This happened because of the Nineteenth Amendment. Many people thought women in the Virgin Islands already had this right. They believed it was given to Danish women in 1915. However, in 1921, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified things. They said that U.S. constitutional rights did not automatically apply to people in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. In 1922, Williams started teaching at Dober Elementary School.
Leading as a Principal
Edith Williams transferred to James Madison School in 1928. By 1932, she became the school's principal. While leading Madison, she started the first school lunch program in the Virgin Islands. She taught students and their parents how to garden. She even created a vegetable patch on the school grounds. This allowed them to grow their own food, prepare it for lunches, and sell any extra produce. Williams owned her own home and walked to Madison School every day.
Fighting for Women's Right to Vote
In 1931, the Virgin Islands changed from being run by the United States Navy to civilian leaders. Women in the Virgin Islands hoped they would get the right to vote when people in the territory became U.S. citizens in 1932. But voting rights were not granted then.
Challenging the Law
Encouraged by businesswoman Ella Gifft, Edith Williams, Bertha C. Boschulte, and Eulalie Stevens teamed up. They decided to fight for women's right to vote. All of them were involved in education and knew about the women's suffrage movement in the United States. They also knew about efforts in Puerto Rico led by Milagros Benet de Mewton to gain voting rights there in 1929.
In 1935, Elsie Hill, a former suffragist, encouraged Boschulte and other Teachers' Association members to challenge their exclusion from voting. The Association filed a lawsuit in November 1935. A judge ruled that the old Danish law was against the U.S. Nineteenth Amendment. He said it was never meant to stop women from voting.
Winning the Right to Vote
The next month, Edith Williams became the first woman to register to vote. Soon, almost two dozen other women followed her. However, the Board of Elections rejected all the women's registrations. Elsie Hill then arranged for a lawyer to help them for free.
They chose Williams, Eulalie Stevens, and Anna M. Vessup to represent them in court. These three women were chosen because they met all the requirements to vote, except for being women. The court ruled in their favor again! This allowed qualified women to vote in the 1936 election. Their success inspired women in Saint Croix and Saint John to register. This eventually led to all adults being able to vote in 1938.
Williams' last teaching job was at Thomas Jefferson Elementary. She worked there from 1937 until she retired in 1945. In 1974, the Legislature of the Virgin Islands honored her for her service. In 1981, the James Madison Elementary School was renamed the Edith L. Williams Elementary School. The next year, she was the first person added to the Virgin Islands Education Review Hall of Fame.
Death and Legacy
Edith Williams passed away on June 9, 1987, in Charlotte Amalie. She is often called the "Mother of Education" in the Virgin Islands. People remember her not only for her important work in education but also for helping her community and fighting for women's right to vote.
A statue of Williams stands in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Veterans Memorial Park in Charlotte Amalie. It shows her holding a book in one hand and a coal pot in the other. The statue has a special message: "Feed not only the body, the mind must also be nourished."
