anti-apartheid activist, chemist and educator. She co-founded the Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement which petitioned the Polaroid corporation to end its support of the South African apartheid system.
Xavier University Preparatory School
Xavier University Preparatory School was a private, Catholic high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament founded, owned and operated the school, having opened it in 1915 as what would eventually become Xavier Unive ...
Hunter was moved by reading the novel ''
Cry, the Beloved Country
''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder.
American publisher Benne ...
'' which depicts the oppression of South African apartheid. She memorized and copied passages from the book into her other textbooks. Hunter proceeded to
Xavier University of Louisiana
Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Catholic ...
where she earned a degree in Chemistry.
Career
Polaroid Revolutionary Workers Movement (1970–1977)
After college, Hunter worked as a research bench chemist for the
Polaroid Corporation
Polaroid is an American company best known for its instant film and cameras. The company was founded in 1937 by Edwin H. Land, to exploit the use of its Polaroid polarizing polymer. Land ran the company until 1981. Its peak employment was 21,0 ...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During this period, she became the first African American woman to challenge her employer’s South African investments. In 1970, Hunter and her co-worker, future husband Ken Williams, discovered the involvement of their employer, Polaroid, in the South African apartheid system as the producer of the passbook photos used to identify black individuals in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. To pressure Polaroid to divest from South Africa, Hunter and Williams created the Polaroid Revolutionary Worker Movement (PRWM). Through the PRWM, Hunter and Williams organized a boycott against the corporation.
Consequently, Polaroid banned all sales to the government, including the military and police, and promised to raise wages and increase job training at its distributors. The plan did not pacify the PRWM, however, and, in 1971, Hunter testified before the United Nations advocating a boycott of Polaroid products. Polaroid proceeded to fire both Hunter and Williams. As a result of protests, a community group in Boston donated $10,000 it received from Polaroid to South African liberation movements. In 1977, it became public Polaroid film was being sold by the distributor Frank and Hirsch to the
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
n government for use in the "
passbook
A passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank or building society transactions on a deposit account.
Traditionally, a passbook was used for accounts with a low transaction volume, such as savings accounts. A bank teller or postma ...
" in violation of Polaroid's policy. This ended Polaroid's relationship with its distributor and all direct sales to South Africa.
Subsequent career
Following her involvement in the PRWM, Hunter went on to work as an educator. She was a secondary science and math teacher in Boston, Massachusetts’s public high school system, volunteering in school-community projects for at-risk youth, advocacy and support for diverse parents, and elimination of the achievement gap. This included summer and Saturday workshops. In 1998, after her husband, Ken Williams, died, she and her daughter, Lisette, founded the Ken Williams Memorial Scholarship Fund (KWMS), for which Hunter served as secretary and annual golf tournament coordinator. The KWMS Fund has awarded more than $30,000 in college scholarships to needy high school students from Cambridge and Martha’s Vineyard for outstanding social justice work and art. In 1999, she earned her Master of Education degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and became assistant principal of the
Cambridge Rindge and Latin School
The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, also known as CRLS or "Rindge," is a public high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. It is a part of the Cambridge Public School District. In 1977, two separate schools, the Rindge Technical ...
.
Recognition
Hunter was invited to give the keynote at the Dr. Effie Jones Memorial Luncheon at the AASA National Conference on Education, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, and received the Dr. Effie Jones Humanitarian Award from the
American Association of School Administrators
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA), founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 14,000 educational leaders across the United States. AASA's members are chief executive officers and senior-level administrato ...
on February 14, 2014. She also received the 2012 Rosa Parks Memorial Award from the National Education Association for leading the effort that led to sanctions against apartheid in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. The South African Partners presented the Amandla Award to Hunter in 2012, and the Massachusetts Teachers Association presented her the Louise Gaskins Lifetime Civil Rights Award in 2011.