Winson Hudson facts for kids

Winson Hudson, whose birth name was Anger Winson Gates, was an important American civil rights activist. She was born on November 17, 1916, in Galilee, Mississippi, and passed away on May 1, 2004. Winson Hudson spent her life fighting for fairness and equal rights for African Americans.

Early Life and Family

Winson Hudson was born Anger Winson Gates on November 17, 1916. She was born in a place called Galilee, Mississippi. She was the tenth of thirteen children in her family. Her parents were John Wesely Gates and Emma Laura Kirkland Turner.

Winson's grandmother, Angeline Gates Turner, had a big influence on her. Her grandmother had been a slave. Winson's mother died when Winson was only eight years old. Her father then raised Winson and her many brothers and sisters by himself. They lived on a 105-acre farm. This farm helped them get food and other things they needed.

Winson stopped school in the eleventh grade. She married Leroy Cleo Hudson in 1936 when she was eighteen. Times were tough, so they moved to Chicago for a short time to find work. Later, they moved back to Mississippi. Winson got her teaching license. She taught first, second, and third graders at Bay Spring Grammar School from 1949 to 1951. After that, she became the Lunchroom Manager at Harmony School.

Fighting for Civil Rights

Joining the NAACP

Winson Hudson became a strong leader in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1961, she helped start a local chapter of the NAACP in Leake County. The NAACP is a group that works for equal rights for all people. Winson became the Vice President of this new chapter.

Some people in the community were worried about joining the NAACP. They knew it could cause problems with white members of the Ku Klux Klan. Even so, Winson and her sisters decided to take a big step. In 1961, they started a lawsuit to make schools in Leake County open to all students, no matter their race. This was called desegregation.

The lawsuit got attention across the country. Many Black people in the community were scared. A civil rights leader named Medgar Evers helped Winson and her family a lot during this time. Sadly, Medgar Evers was killed in 1963 by a white supremacist.

The judge made a decision in the lawsuit in 1964. He ordered that Leake County schools must desegregate. This meant they had to start with the first grade and add one grade each year. Debra Lewis was the first Black student to enroll in a public school in Leake County. Her family faced many challenges because of this. Her father lost his job and was attacked. Someone even tried to burn down their home. Despite this, Debra graduated from Leake County High School.

Winson Hudson kept fighting for Black schools to stay open. Because of her work, she and her family were often targeted by white violence. Her sister's house was bombed twice in 1967. There was also an attempt to bomb Winson's house that same year.

Community Building and Freedom Summer

In 1964, Winson Hudson and other activists welcomed students from a program called Freedom Summer to Harmony. These students came to help educate young Black people in the community. With lots of help and donations, they built the Harmony Community Center. Winson's husband, Cleo, also played a big part in building this center.

Some white community members were very angry about the Freedom Summer students. Three of these students were tragically murdered. In 1967, Winson and other NAACP members helped integrate the Holiday Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi. This meant that the hotel had to serve all people, regardless of their race.

Fighting for Voting Rights

Winson Hudson also worked hard to help Black people register to vote. In February 1965, she spoke to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She told them about the problems Black people faced when trying to register.

Winson started paying poll taxes in 1937. A poll tax was a fee people had to pay to vote. This tax made it harder for poor people, especially Black people, to vote. She tried many times to register for national elections but was turned away. It wasn't until 1962 that she and her sister, Dovie Hudson, were finally allowed to register. They had to pass a difficult literacy test first.

After they registered, Winson and other activists started a project to help more Black people register to vote. They helped about 1,000 Black voters sign up. After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, poll taxes and literacy tests were no longer allowed. Winson continued to encourage people in Leake County not just to register, but to actually go out and vote.

Starting Head Start Programs

In 1965, the first Head Start Program was created in Harmony. Head Start helps young children from low-income families get ready for school. Winson Hudson played many roles in getting this program started.

Winson went to a training program to learn how to organize Head Start. When she came back to Leake County, she and other activists formed a committee. It was hard to get people to join at first because many were afraid. The center lost its funding after six months, so volunteers kept it running. In 1966, more money was given to Head Start. Winson helped organize several new centers, including Pilgrim Rest Center and Rising Chapel Center.

Later Life and Recognition

Winson Hudson continued her work to desegregate public places in Carthage, Mississippi. In 1971, she spoke at a conference about health care. She talked about how poor people did not have enough medical care.

Awards and Honors

Winson Hudson received many important awards later in her life. In 1976, she was chosen as a delegate for the Democratic National Convention in Florida. In 1978, she was one of three Black leaders from the South who had lunch with President Jimmy Carter.

In 1983, the Governor of Mississippi, William Winter, gave Winson a Distinguished Service Award. In 1989, she received the Fannie Lou Hamer Award from the Mississippi Democratic party. Winson and her sister, Dovie, were also featured in a famous photo book called I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America. Winson even met Oprah Winfrey and Alice Walker at an art gallery event. In 1994, she spoke to President Bill Clinton's Health Reform Task Force. She spoke on behalf of poor citizens in Mississippi.

Her Autobiography

In 2002, Winson Hudson published her own book. It was called Mississippi Harmony: Memoirs of a Freedom Fighter. The book tells Winson's story in her own words. It also includes historical information and a foreword by Derrick Bell. Winson wrote about how hard it was to be an activist in her early days. She said, "It was a lonely walk," because many white people were against her. Some Black citizens were also afraid to support her openly.

Winson's daughter, Annie Maude, had two sons, Donovan and Kempton Horton. Winson also had a great-grandson named Ryan and two great-granddaughters, Tyler and Lauren.