Fannie C. Williams (1882–1980) was an American educator.

Early life

Fannie C. Williams was born in 1882 in

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. In the pursuit to attend college, she moved to New Orleans. In 1904, she graduated from

Straight College Straight University (known as Straight College after 1915) was an American Historically black colleges and universities, historically black college that operated between 1868 and 1934 in New Orleans, Louisiana. After struggling with financial d ...

, a school that later merged with

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

. In 1920, she received two degrees from

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the c ...

, a bachelor of arts and a bachelor of pedagogy.

Career

Her first job after college was teaching in Gulfport and Pass Christian, Mississippi from 1904 to 1908. After this, she moved to Albion, Michigan and taught at Fisk Elementary from 1908 to 1917.

Later years in education

When she returned to

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1921, where Williams taught initially at the Valena C. Jones School, an elementary school, and later at the Valena C. Jones Normal School; both of which shared a campus. She would later serve as principal of both schools. As principal, she encouraged others to give back to the community by having students go out and help others. One thing she promoted was for students to visit the elderly and give them flowers. She was instrumental in having a nursery and a kindergarten class established for

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

in the public school system and established an annual child health day when medical professionals visited schools and performed their service free of charge. Moreover, Williams provide milk and hot lunches for the children to encourage healthy eating habits.

Legacy

Williams is prominently remembered for her work in education and community development. Within the city of New Orleans, she served as an organizer, charter member, and President for the Board of Management for the African-American branch of the New Orleans

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

. Started a Health Program which resulted in the creation of Child Health Day on May 1 of each school year. She held a position on many organizations including Board of Directors of the Orleans Neighborhood Center, the Family Service Society, and the Girl Scotts. In 1977, she was the recipient of awards from the

American Teachers Association The American Teachers Association (1937–1966), formerly National Colored Teachers Association (1906–1907) and National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (1907–1937), was a professional association and teachers' union representing t ...

and the National Teacher's Association. She died in 1980 at the age of 98. Her influence extended beyond the

Orleans Parish Orleans Parish (; ) is a parish of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of New Orleans, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city. History On April 10, 180 ...

School system. She participated in three

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

Conferences during the administrations of U. S. Presidents

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, and

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. Williams served as president of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools and on the board of directors of

and

Flint-Goodridge Hospital Flint-Goodridge Hospital was a hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. For almost a century (1896–1983) it served predominantly African-American patients and was the first black hospital in the South. For most of these years, was owned and ope ...

. In addition, Williams was a member of advisory for the Department of Public Welfare. Because of her contributions to education, Dillard University opened the Fannie C. Williams Hall in 1946 and 1950, which was named after her to honor the work she did in education and to be a public testimonial of all the work she did. In 1961, Williams received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Dillard University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fannie C. 1882 births 1980 deaths People from Biloxi, Mississippi Michigan State University alumni 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators 20th-century American women educators Straight University alumni Educators from New Orleans 20th-century African-American women