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Hosea Williams was an American civil rights leader, politician and philanthropist who played a major role in the struggle against segregation.

Early Life:

  • Hosea Williams was born January 5, 1926, in Attapulgus, Georgia.
  • His African-American parents were both blind and were in a trade institute for the blind.
  • Hosea’s mother died giving birth to his younger sister, so the two children went to live with their grandparents.
  • When Williams was 14, he was forced to flee his grandparents’ farm to avoid being lynched after becoming friendly with a local white girl.
  • At age 23, Williams completed his high school education and enrolled at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, and earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry.
  • After earning his master’s degree from Atlanta University, he worked as research chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was also ordained as a minister.
  • During this time, he married Juanita Terry. They had five children together and adopted another four.
  • During World War II, Williams joined the U.S. Army and served in an all-black unit under General George S. Patton.
  • He joined the Third Army Unit to Europe and was the only survivor of a 13-man platoon hit by a shell in France. While being taken to hospital, the ambulance was also hit and once again he was the only survivor.

Civil Rights Movement:

  • Hosea Williams first became active in the Civil Rights Movement in 1952.
  • He joined the Savannah chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
  • Hosea was motivated to join the NAACP after being badly beaten by a group of whites after trying to get a drink of water from a whites-only canteen in a segregated bus station in Americus, Georgia.
  • In 1964, he joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
  • As one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most trusted officers of the SCLC, Williams helped conduct black voter registration drives in the Freedom Summer of 1964.
  • On March 7, 1965, he also played a leadership role in the March to Montgomery.
  • It was cut short by police brutality and was known as Bloody Sunday.
  • The highly publicized event ultimately prompted President Lyndon Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act.
  • Also in 1965, King appointed Williams president of the SCLC’s Summer Community Organization and Political Education.
  • During the late 1960s,Williams collaborated with the Coordinating Council of Community Organizations on the Chicago Campaign.
  • In 1968, he returned to the south as field director for the SCLC’s Poor People’s Campaign.
  • In April of that year, he witnessed King’s devastating assassination.
  • In the 1970s, Williams was elected executive director of the SCLC.
  • Hosea Williams founded the “Hosea Feed the Hungry” and “Homeless Food International” aid organizations in 1971.
  • HFTH has since donated billions of dollars in food, medical and educational supplies to recipients in Georgia, Uganda, the Philippines and the Ivory Coast.
  • In 1974, Williams won the election to the Georgia State Assembly.
  • He remained a representative until he resigned and his wife took over his seat.
  • From 1985 to 1990, he was a member of the Atlanta City Council.
  • From 1990 to 1994, he served as DeKalb County commissioner.
  • In 1987, Hosea Williams lead Georgia’s most sizable civil rights march, in which some 20,000 protesters boldly withstood racial slurs and physical violence from white supremacist counter-demonstrators in the all-white Forsyth County.
  • Williams also led a 1996 march to the Georgia state capitol to protest the Confederate symbol depicted on Georgia’s state flag.
  • Hosea Williams died of kidney cancer in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 16, 2000, at the age of 74.

Hosea Williams Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Hosea Williams Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Hosea Williams who was an American civil rights leader, politician and philanthropist who played a major role in the struggle against segregation.Southeast Asia.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Hosea Lorenzo Williams Facts
  • Hosea’s Legacy
  • Matching Type
  • Career
  • Activism
  • Synonyms
  • Civil Rights March
  • Hosea’s Help
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • Lesson Learned
  • Song Choice

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