Grace Towns Hamilton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Grace Towns Hamilton
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 137th, 112th and 31st district |
|
| In office 1966–1984 |
|
| Succeeded by | Mable Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 10, 1907 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | June 17, 1992 (aged 85) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | South View Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Henry Cooke Hamilton |
| Children | Eleanor |
| Alma mater | Atlanta University Ohio State University |
Grace Towns Hamilton (born February 10, 1907 – died June 17, 1992) was an important American politician. She made history as the first African-American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly. This is like the state's parliament, where laws are made.
Before becoming a politician, Grace Hamilton was the leader of the Atlanta Urban League from 1943 to 1960. In this role, she worked hard to improve housing, health care, schools, and voter registration for the black community. She also helped start Partners for Progress in 1964. This group worked to make sure people followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Later, in 1973, she helped rewrite the rules for the city of Atlanta. She also advised the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1985 to 1987.
Contents
Grace Hamilton's Early Life and Family
Grace Towns was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on February 10, 1907. Her parents, George Alexander Towns Sr. and Nellie McNair Towns, were very active in their community. Grace was the second of five children in her family.
The Towns family lived near Atlanta University. This university was special because it had been integrated (meaning people of all races studied together) since the 1800s. Grace grew up playing with children of different backgrounds. Her family attended the First Congregational Church, where many members were involved in helping the community. Grace also joined the church's student forum and the YWCA.
Grace's Father: An Educator and Activist
Grace's father, George Alexander Towns Sr., was a teacher, poet, and writer. He earned degrees from both Atlanta University and Harvard University. He taught English and debate skills at Atlanta University until he retired in 1929.
He worked with famous people like James Weldon Johnson and W. E. B. Du Bois. Grace's father was also very active in community affairs. He was an officer of the NAACP. He strongly encouraged black community members to register and vote.
Grace's Mother: A Community Leader
Grace's mother, Nellie McNair Towns, was also a teacher. She was born in 1879. After marrying George Towns in 1902, she focused on community work through her church.
Nellie helped create the Gate City Free Kindergarten Association. This organization provided schooling for children of black parents who worked. She was also the first black woman to serve on the board of Atlanta's YWCA.
Grace's Marriage and Family
Grace Towns married Henry Cooke "Cookie" Hamilton on June 7, 1930. She was 23, and he was 31. Both their families had strong ties to Atlanta University and the First Congregational Church. Cookie's father and grandfather were well-known African-American building contractors in Atlanta.
Grace and Cookie had one child, a daughter named Eleanor, born in 1931. Cookie Hamilton passed away on January 2, 1987.
Grace's Education and Learning
Grace Towns first had a private tutor at home. Then, she attended Oglethorpe Practice School for two years. This school was on the Atlanta University campus. For high school, she went to the university's preparatory school. This was the only high school in the city open to black students at that time.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Atlanta University in 1927. In 1929, she received her master's degree in psychology from Ohio State University. Living in Ohio was her first real experience with segregation. While Atlanta University's campus was integrated, living in Columbus, Ohio, showed her the effects of racial separation firsthand.
After returning to Atlanta in 1941, she took more graduate courses at Atlanta University. One of her teachers was the famous W. E. B. Du Bois.
Grace's Early Career (1930–1942)
Before she got married, Grace Towns taught at Clark College and the Atlanta School of Social Work. After marrying, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where her husband Cookie was a professor and dean at LeMoyne–Owen College. Grace joined the faculty there as a psychology professor.
In 1934, during the Great Depression, she lost her job due to layoffs. Until 1941, she worked with the Memphis branch of the YWCA. She helped create the city's first YWCA for black people. In 1935, she supervised a survey for the WPA. This survey looked at the black workforce in Shelby County. The results were published in 1938. In 1941, she and Cookie moved back to Atlanta.
Leading the Atlanta Urban League (1943–1960)
The Atlanta Urban League (AUL) was an organization that worked for civil rights. It was started in 1919. In 1943, Grace Hamilton became its executive director. She held this important position until 1960. Under her leadership, the AUL's board of directors became integrated, including influential white members alongside black members.
Improving Housing for Black Families
Grace Hamilton and the AUL made housing a top priority. Their main goal was to create better housing options in black communities. They wanted to help families move out of crowded areas into improved neighborhoods.
In 1947, they formed a committee to find new areas for black community development. Hamilton and her team often traveled to Washington D.C. They worked to convince the Federal Housing Administration to provide loans for black families to buy homes. Because of their efforts, the High Point apartment complex opened in 1950. Other successful projects included the Fairhaven single-family homes and public housing like Carver Public Housing and Perry Homes.
Working for Better Education
In 1944, Hamilton led a study on the state of black education in Atlanta. The Citizens Committee on Public Education was formed in 1945 to share this study with the Atlanta Board of Education and the public. The education board slowly responded by opening four kindergartens for black children between 1945 and 1948.
Encouraging Voter Registration
In 1944, the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling that helped end the "white primary" system in Texas. This system had prevented black people from voting in primary elections. In 1946, the Supreme Court ruled that Georgia's white primary also violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Following these rulings, Hamilton and her team organized a voter registration drive in 1946. This effort successfully registered 24,137 new black voters in Atlanta.
Improving Health Care Access
In December 1947, Hamilton and the AUL released a report about hospital care for black people in Atlanta. The report showed there were not enough black doctors and limited health care for the black community. While poor black patients received some care, there were no facilities for black patients who could pay for their treatment.
The AUL suggested creating a city hospital specifically for training and providing health care to Atlanta's black citizens. This need was highlighted by the tragic death of Juliette Derricotte in 1931. She was denied emergency care in Georgia after a car crash and died after being transported to a hospital in Tennessee.
Hamilton joined the Citizens Committee for Negro Hospital Care. This committee included important figures like Benjamin Mays and Rufus Early Clement. They worked to find a solution for medical care for paying black patients. The Hill-Burton Act of 1946 provided federal money for new hospital buildings and services. An amendment in 1949 allowed for segregated facilities if they were "separate but equal."
Hamilton and attorney Hughes Spalding proposed building a separate but equal black facility next to Grady Memorial Hospital. Even though some black leaders wanted full integration, Hamilton saw this as a necessary first step. The Hospital Authority donated land for the hospital. By 1949, enough money was raised, and construction began in 1950. The new facility, named the Hughes Spalding Pavilion, opened in 1952. Hamilton was named secretary to its advisory board.
By 1960, Grace Hamilton decided to leave the AUL to pursue new opportunities.
After the Urban League (1961–1966)
From 1961 to 1967, Grace Hamilton ran her own consulting firm called Hamilton and Associates. She was hired by Eli Ginzberg from Columbia University to interview black college students in Atlanta. This was part of a study about the career hopes of middle-class black youth. The study's findings were published in 1967.
In 1964, Hamilton co-founded Partners for Progress with Mrs. Edward M. Vinson. Hamilton became the group's vice-chair. This bi-racial organization aimed to help ensure that everyone followed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. They worked to encourage fair opportunities in government, private businesses, and society. During these years, she also received many important appointments at local, state, and national levels.
Serving in the Georgia House of Representatives (1966–1984)
Grace Hamilton made history as the first African-American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly. In 1965, new rules created more seats in the Georgia House of Representatives for Fulton County. A special election was held, and in 1966, Hamilton was one of eight African Americans elected to join Leroy Johnson, who was already serving.
The other newly elected members included Horace T. Ward, Benjamin D. Brown, John Hood, Julian C. Daugherty, Albert W. Thompson, J. D. Grier Jr., William H. Alexander, and Julian Bond. All but Julian Bond were sworn in during January 1966. The legislature initially refused to seat Bond because he had criticized the Vietnam War. Bond sued, and the Supreme Court ruled in his favor in December 1966, ordering the legislature to seat him.
Hamilton was re-elected in 1966. Her district's number changed several times due to redistricting. She started in District 137, which became District 112 in 1969, and then District 31 in 1973. She served in District 31 for the rest of her time in government.
Grace Hamilton began her legislative work on committees for money, education, and health. One of her first bills aimed to help people who had to move because of new road construction. She also helped pass a bill to improve the electoral process in Fulton County.
In 1965, a recommendation was made to change the structure of the Atlanta City Council. Hamilton introduced a bill to create the Atlanta Charter Commission. Her goal was to make sure the city's government fairly represented all its citizens, especially black residents, in line with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Hamilton became the vice-chair of this commission. The new city charter was signed into law on March 16, 1973. This new charter changed how the city government worked.
In 1980, there was a disagreement about how to redraw voting districts. Hamilton disagreed with some members of the Black Caucus on this issue. This disagreement led to her being challenged in the 1984 election by Mable Thomas. Hamilton lost to Thomas in the run-off election. After this, she did not hold elected office again.
Grace Hamilton's Final Years
After her election defeat, Grace Hamilton continued to serve as an advisor to the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1985 to 1987. She passed away on June 17, 1992, and was buried in South-View Cemetery in Atlanta.
Images for kids
-
Grace Towns Hamilton
