Birth

Hosea Williams was born on January 5, 1926 to two blind and unmarried teenage parents were placed in a institute for the blind located in Attapulgus, Georgia. Hosea did not know who his father was until he was 28 because his mother ran away from the institute when she discovered she was pregnant with Hosea. After age ten, Williams’ mother passed while giving birth to his younger sister, forcing his grandparents Lela and Turner Williams (his mothers’ parents) to raise him. 2 Williams later met his blind father willie Wiggins by mistake in Florida at age 28. 6

School

Hosea Williams was not a traditional student . He left the farm where he had been raised at the age of 14. He left to avoid being lynched because it was believed he was involved with a white girl. Hosea returned to Attapulgus ,Georgia at the age of 23 and satisfied the requirements for his high school diploma. Hosea then enrolled at Morris Brown College, located in Atlanta, Georgia. He majored in chemistry and received his Bachelors Degree. Hosea then continued on to Clark University which was called Atlanta University to pursue a master’s degree.2

Figure 4

References1. Waalkes, Mary A.. "Williams, Hosea." African American National

Biography. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford African American Studies Center. Wed Jul 01 08:46:52 EDT 2015

2. Kirkland, W. M.. "Hosea Williams (1926-2000)." New Georgia Encyclopedia. 07 April 2015. Web. 01 July 2015.

3. Mamone, Tony, Danny Khatib, Nicole Amico Smith, and Bruce Martin. "Hosea Williams (Wendell Pierce) - 'Selma' Actors Side-By-Side with Their Real Life Counterparts." Zimbio. Livingly Media, Inc, 5 Feb. 2014. Web. 3 July 2015.. "Hosea

4. Williams Children Search." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 July 2015.5. "Spider" Martin, James. "Crossing the Bridge." Encyclopedia of

Alabama. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/m- 2484>.

6. "Hosea Williams - Bio, Facts, Family | Famous Birthdays." Famous Birthdays: Celebrity Bios and Today's Birthdays. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 3 July 2015. 7."Hosea Williams." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 05 July 2015

8. "Hosea Williams." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 30 June 2015. Web. 3 July 2015.

9. King Institute Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/>.

10. "Profile of Hosea Williams - Hosea Feed The Hungry." Hosea Feed The Hungry - Saving Lives Every Day!. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 July 2015. <http://4hosea.org/profiles/blogs/profile-of-hosea-williams>.

11. Peppler, Jim. "Hosea Williams addressing a crowd in downtown Eutaw, Alabama."ADAH Digital Collections. N.p., 10 Nov. 1965. Web. <http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection/peppler /id/7296#.VZoWw_f7uAg.email>.

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Formative Experiences

Hosea Williams formative experiences with race relations probably began when he was a young boy living on the farm in Attapulgus, Georgia, He left the farm at the age of 14 to avoid being lynched. They wanted to lynch Hosea because they thought he was carrying on with a white girl. 2

Things did not get any better after he returned to the United States from fighting in World War II for his country and being wounded. He was traveling back home and in Georgia was beaten for drinking out of a white only fountain in a bus station.

2

Notable Events

Hosea Williams experience or the event that pushed him to pursue civil rights were when he was with his children early 1960 and they were at a Savannah, GA lunch counter . The lunch counter was segregated and his children were refused soda. Hosea was then devoted himself to civil rights and joined the Savannah Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. 2

Life Changing Event

Looking at Hosea Williams career his life changing event was when he was asked by Doctor Martin Luther King in 1962 to join the Southern Christian Leadership Conference executive board, which Hosea accepted. 2

Inspirations

Hosea Williams was reported to saying he was inspired “to clothe the naked and feed the hungry”. This inspiration was following the teaching of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 11

LegacyWilliams died on November 16, 2000 at the age of 74 in Atlanta 6

Education

Williams enrolled at Morris Brown College and received a Bachelors degree in Chemistry from Clark University; he also received his high school diploma at the age of 23. 2

Most Courageous Leadership in the Freedom Movement Award National Association for Advancement of Colored People 1960-1961 Ten Years Satisfactory Service Award United States Department of Agriculture 1961 Cause of Freedom in the Tradition of True Democracy GA State-wide Registration Committee and SCLC1963 SCLC National Affiliate of the Year Award1973 Civil Rights Leader of the Year Award Black Media Inc.1975 Community Action Agency Award, Tuskegee, Essence Award , Essence Magazine, 2000 10

Phi Beta SigmaNational Order of Elks and Free Accepted MasonsSCLC, NAACP, Disabled American Veteran, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Nat’l Science Society of Georgia, Georgia’s Voters League, American Chemistry Society, Committee of Black Churchmen, National Democratic Party 10

Hosea played a major part in the first march in Selma, Alabama under the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he and John Lewis were first in line, leading the people of Selma to on of the bloodiest events. The first march on March 7, 1965 was known as Bloody Sunday because the bloodshed of innocent black people was excessive, due to being beaten half to death with whips, batons, and tear gas. Hosea Williams and John Lewis were the first ones to be stricken down by the police brutality. Figure 3 shows Hosea Williams to the left and John Lewis to the right, leading the march.

Ava DuVernay directed the Selma movie, which captures the injustice the African American people of the 1960s experienced in Selma Alabama. In the movie, Hosea Williams is depicted as Wendell Pierce. Figure 4 shows Hosea Williams side by side with the actor that portrays him in the movie. Hosea Williams had other major events before the march in Selma known as “Bloody Sunday”. Hosea Williams lead a group called the Chatham County Crusade for Voters on a march to segregate hotels, motels, theaters and restaurants in Savannah, GA in 1961. This group was part of SCLC. The march was not a success that day and Williams was arrested but because of his movement and his relationship with Dr. King within a year the city was declared by Dr. Martin L, King as being one of the desegregated in the city.

Family

Hosea Williams married Juanita Terry and worked for the United States Department of Agriculture as the first black research chemist in the south. 9 He was also a minister in the early 1950s. 7 They had a total of eight children four biological children and they adopted four more. Four daughters: Elisabeth Omilami, Yolanda Favors, Barbara Emerson, , and Juanita Collier; four sons: Torrey Williams, Andre Williams, Hyron Williams, and Hosea Williams, Jr. 4

Military

Hosea Williams served in World War II under General George Patton he was stationed in an all African American unit. He achieved to the rank of Staff Sergeant and earned the Purple Heart after being the only survivor of a Nazi bombing where he was hospitalized for over a year n Europe. The injury left Hosea with a permanent limp. 10

Figure 3

Figure 1Hosea Williams (far left), Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Ralph Abernathy are seen together before Dr. King was assassinated.

Figure 2 Hosea Williams is speaking to a local citizens from Eutaw,

Alabama