English Poster Rough Draft

1. 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
References
1. 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>.
.
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
Legacy
Williams 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 SCLC
1963 SCLC National Affiliate of the Year Award
1973 Civil Rights Leader of the Year Award Black Media Inc.
1975 Community Action Agency Award, Tuskegee,
Essence Award , Essence Magazine, 2000 10
Phi Beta Sigma
National Order of Elks and Free Accepted Masons
SCLC, 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 1
Hosea 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