Essie Mae Washington-Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Essie Mae Washington-Williams
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Washington-Williams in 2003
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| Born |
Essie Mae Butler
October 12, 1925 |
| Died | February 4, 2013 (aged 87) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
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| Education | South Carolina State College California State University, Los Angeles (B.A.) University of Southern California (M.Ed.) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Spouse(s) |
Julius T. Williams
(m. 1948; died 1964) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Strom Thurmond Carrie Butler |
| Relatives | James Strom Thurmond Jr. (half-brother) Paul Thurmond (half-brother) |
Essie Mae Washington-Williams (born Butler; October 12, 1925 – February 4, 2013) was an American teacher and writer. She is known as the oldest child of Strom Thurmond. He was a Governor of South Carolina and a long-time U.S. Senator. Senator Thurmond was known for supporting laws that kept Black and white people separate.
Essie Mae's mother, Carrie Butler, was an African-American teenager. She worked for Strom Thurmond's parents. Strom Thurmond was 22 and unmarried when Essie Mae was born. Essie Mae Washington-Williams grew up with her mother's sister. She did not know who her biological parents were until she was 13 years old.
She went to college and earned a master's degree. She got married, raised a family, and worked as a teacher for 30 years. Washington-Williams did not share who her biological father was until she was almost 78. This was after Thurmond died in 2003 at age 100. Even though he was not part of her daily life, he paid for her college. He also showed interest in her and her family throughout his life. In 2005, she wrote her autobiography, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. This book was nominated for important awards.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Essie Mae Washington was born to Carrie Butler and Strom Thurmond. Carrie Butler was about 15 or 16 years old at the time. She worked as a helper for Thurmond's parents. Carrie sent her daughter from South Carolina to live with her older sister, Mary, and Mary's husband, John Henry Washington. They raised Essie Mae in Coatesville, Pennsylvania.
Essie Mae grew up thinking her cousin was her half-brother. She did not know who her real parents were until 1938. She was 13 when her mother told her the full story. In 1941, her mother took her to meet Strom Thurmond in person.
After that, Washington and her mother met Thurmond sometimes. After high school, Washington-Williams worked as a nurse in New York City. She also took business classes at New York University.
Education and Marriage
In 1942, Washington visited the segregated South for the first time. She had grown up in Pennsylvania, so she was surprised by the strict rules about race in the South. She went back North to live with relatives during World War II.
After Thurmond returned from the war, Essie Mae started college. She went to the all-Black South Carolina State College in 1947. Thurmond quietly paid for her college education. In 1948, she met and married Julius Williams, who was studying law there. Their first child was born in 1949. Because of this, Essie Mae Washington-Williams left college to start raising her family. She had four children in total.
Career and Impact
During the 1950s and 1960s, the civil rights movement was very active. Washington sometimes tried to talk to Thurmond about racism. He was known for supporting segregation. However, Washington-Williams felt she made a difference in their private talks. She believed her conversations changed Thurmond's views on African Americans. For example, in 1976, Thurmond nominated Matthew J. Perry for a federal judgeship. Perry was an African American man whom Essie Mae had dated. Thurmond was the first Southern senator to nominate an African American for such a position.
After her husband died in 1964, Washington moved to Los Angeles, California. She finished her college degree at California State University, Los Angeles in 1969. She then earned a master's degree in education from the University of Southern California. She worked as a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 30 years, from 1967 to 1997. She was also a long-time member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.
Personal Life and Interests
Essie Mae Washington-Williams had two sons and two daughters with Julius T. Williams. After he finished law school, they moved to his hometown, Savannah, Georgia. He started a law practice there and was active in the NAACP. Her husband died in 1964.
Her children live in different areas, with three near Seattle and one near Los Angeles. Washington-Williams had many grandchildren. In 2004, she wanted to help the Black Patriots Foundation. This group was raising money for a monument in Washington, D.C.. It would honor Black Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War.
Death
Essie Mae Washington-Williams passed away on February 4, 2013. She was 87 years old and died in Columbia, South Carolina.
Legacy and Honors
When Washington-Williams announced her connection to Strom Thurmond, his family accepted it. In 2004, the state government allowed her name to be added to a monument for Senator Thurmond. This monument is on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds. It now lists her as one of his children.
In 2005, South Carolina State University gave Washington-Williams an honorary doctorate degree in education. She was invited to speak at their graduation ceremony.
She published her memoir, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond (2005). She wrote it with William Stadiem. The book talks about her feelings of being from different backgrounds. It also describes going to college in the segregated South after growing up in Pennsylvania. The book was nominated for both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.
