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314:, Washington occasionally tried to discuss racism with Thurmond, who was known for his long-time political support for segregation, but he brushed off her complaints about segregated facilities. Nevertheless, Washington felt that she made a significant impact on Thurmond during their private conversations on race and race relations and that Thurmond's policies towards African Americans were affected as a result. In 1976, for example, Thurmond nominated
272:. The girl was named Essie after another of Carrie's sisters, who fostered her briefly as an infant. Essie Mae grew up with her cousin, seven years older than she, who she believed was her half-brother. She was unaware of the identity of her biological parents until 1938, when she was 13 and her mother told her the full story. In 1941, her mother took her to meet Thurmond in person.
302:(SCSC) in the fall of 1947. Thurmond quietly paid for her college education. She met and married future lawyer Julius Williams at SCSC in 1948. Her first child, Julius Williams Jr., was born in 1949. As a result, Essie Mae dropped out of college in the summer of 1949 to begin raising the first of her four children.
235:
politics. Of mixed race, she was born to Carrie Butler, a 16-year-old
African-American girl who worked as a domestic servant for Thurmond's parents, and Thurmond, then 22 and unmarried. Essie Mae grew up in the family of one of her mother's sisters, not learning of her biological parents until 1938
239:
Washington-Williams did not reveal her father's identity until she was almost 78 years old, after
Thurmond's death at the age of 100 in 2003. Though he had little to do with her upbringing, he had paid for her college education and took an interest in her and her family all his life. In 2005, she
44:
422:
When
Washington-Williams announced her family connection, it was acknowledged by the Thurmond family. In 2004, the state legislature approved the addition of her name to the list of Thurmond children on a monument for Senator Thurmond on the South Carolina Statehouse grounds.
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South until 1942, when she met relatives in
Edgefield. After having grown up in Pennsylvania, she was shocked by the racial restrictions of the South. She returned to the North to live with relatives during the war years. After Thurmond returned from
236:
when her mother came for a visit and informed Essie Mae she was her mother. She graduated from college, earned a master's degree, married, raised a family, and had a 30-year professional career in education.
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In 1949, Washington left college before her junior year after marrying Julius T. Williams, a law student at SCSC, the previous year. After his graduation from law school, they moved to his home town,
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In 2005, Washington-Williams was awarded an honorary
Doctorate in education from South Carolina State University at Orangeburg when she was invited to speak at their commencement ceremony.
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Following the death of her husband in 1964, Washington moved again, to Los
Angeles, California, where she completed her undergraduate studies to receive a bachelor's degree from
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In 2004, Washington-Williams said that she intended to be active on behalf of the Black
Patriots Foundation, which was raising funds to build a monument on the
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Essie Mae and her mother met infrequently with
Thurmond after that, although they had some contact for years. After high school, she worked as a nurse at
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based on her heritage through
Thurmond to ancestors who fought as Confederate soldiers. She died before being accepted. She also intended to join the
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Strom
Thurmond's statue with Essie Mae added. In the phrase "The father of four children", the "four" was replaced with "five".
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361:, Washington, area, and one daughter lives near Los Angeles. Washington-Williams has numerous grandchildren.
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376:. This organization became defunct the following year. Another group is now raising funds for the monument.
264:, then 22. Carrie Butler worked as a domestic servant for Thurmond's parents. Butler sent her daughter from
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441:
496:
Washington-Williams, Essie Mae (2005). Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. Harper.
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219:; October 12, 1925 – February 4, 2013) was an American teacher and author. She was the eldest child of
437:. It explored her sense of dislocation based on her mixed heritage, as well as going to college in the
322:. Thurmond became the first Southern senator to nominate an African American for a federal judgeship.
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Essie Mae was the daughter of Carrie Butler, who was 15 or 16 when her daughter was born, and
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357:. They had two sons and two daughters together. He died in 1964. Three children live in the
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784:"Essie Mae Washington-Williams dies at 87; black daughter of segregationist Strom Thurmond"
647:"Essie Mae Washington-Williams dies at 87; black daughter of segregationist Strom Thurmond"
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607:"Honoring Lana Hughes and JP Pritchard for 3 Decades of Service to Southeast Texas"
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to her older sister Mary and her husband John Henry Washington to be raised in
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318:, whom Essie Mae dated in 1947 shortly before she met her husband, to the
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During the late 1950s and 1960s, the years of national activism in the
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Strom: The Complicated Personal and Political Life of Strom Thurmond
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Strom: The Complicated Personal and Political Life of Strom Thurmond
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after having grown up in Pennsylvania. It was nominated for both a
413:
354:
127:
802:"Strom Thurmond's Daughter, Essie Mae Washington Williams, Dies"
731:"Daughter of late Sen. Strom Thurmond to join Confederacy group"
748:"Thurmond's Biracial Daughter Seeks to Join Confederacy Group"
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in New York City, and took a course in business education at
472:
Janofsky, Michael. "Thurmond Kin Acknowledge Black Daughter"
353:, where he established a law practice and was active in the
337:
from 1967 through 1997. Washington was a longtime member of
934:"South Carolina: Biracial Child Added To Thurmond Monument"
379:
In 2004, Washington-Williams applied for membership in the
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sorority, which she joined while at South Carolina State.
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in 1969 and earned a master's degree in education at the
858:
Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond
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Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond
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Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond
558:"Final Word: 'My Father's Name Was James Strom Thurmond
877:
Ol' Strom: An Unauthorized Biography of Strom Thurmond
919:, Interview, National Public Radio, February 1, 2005.
1033:
New York University Stern School of Business alumni
856:Essie Mae Washington-Williams and William Stadiem,
589:"A Thurmond Child Looks at Her Life and His Racism"
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American blacks who served in the Revolutionary War
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142:
134:
106:
98:
79:
53:
34:
828:"Strom Thurmond's Mixed-race Daughter Dies At 87"
506:Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams (February 26, 2004).
766:"The Secret Fight to Save Confederate Monuments"
1013:California State University, Los Angeles alumni
917:'Dear Senator', from Strom Thurmond's Daughter"
640:
638:
544:'Dear Senator', from Strom Thurmond's Daughter"
333:, She had a 30-year career as a teacher in the
402:Washington-Williams died February 4, 2013, in
27:American school teacher and writer (1925–2013)
8:
879:, University of South Carolina Press, 2003.
682:, Strom Thurmond Center, Clemson University.
737:, July 19, 2004, retrieved March 26, 2009.
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692:Bass, Jack; Thompson, Marilyn W. (2006).
1038:University of Southern California alumni
944:More about Essie Mae Washington-Williams
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556:Gettleman, Jeffrey (December 18, 2003),
327:California State University, Los Angeles
115:California State University, Los Angeles
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161: 1948; died 1964)
1043:USC Rossier School of Education alumni
1028:South Carolina State University alumni
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724:
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1023:People from Edgefield, South Carolina
1018:People from Coatesville, Pennsylvania
211:
7:
385:Daughters of the American Revolution
890:Jack Bass and Marilyn W. Thompson,
381:United Daughters of the Confederacy
335:Los Angeles Unified School District
993:American people of English descent
587:Maslin, Janet (January 17, 2005).
25:
539:Gross, Terry (February 1, 2005).
331:University of Southern California
124:University of Southern California
946:, Frank Wheaton Official Website
645:Woo, Elaine (February 4, 2013).
616:. pp. E1480. Archived from
1078:Protestants from South Carolina
988:African-American schoolteachers
924:"Essie Mae Washington-Williams"
158:
1003:Schoolteachers from California
698:. PublicAffairs. p. 148.
605:Kevin Brady (August 1, 2011).
320:U.S. Court of Military Appeals
244:, which was nominated for the
1:
950:Essie Mae Washington-Williams
295:, she started college at the
240:published her autobiography,
208:Essie Mae Washington-Williams
36:Essie Mae Washington-Williams
300:South Carolina State College
111:South Carolina State College
1083:African-American Christians
1073:Protestants from California
1068:American Congregationalists
1063:Writers from South Carolina
595:, retrieved March 27, 2009.
48:Washington-Williams in 2003
1104:
673:"Dr. Essie Mae Washington"
390:Washington-Williams was a
225:Governor of South Carolina
1088:Delta Sigma Theta members
1048:American women memoirists
804:. WLTX.TV. Archived from
270:Coatesville, Pennsylvania
227:(1947–1951) and longtime
72:Edgefield, South Carolina
41:
1008:American women educators
894:, Public Affairs, 2005.
429:She published a memoir,
404:Columbia, South Carolina
194:James Strom Thurmond Jr.
91:Columbia, South Carolina
1058:Writers from California
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286:She did not visit the
185:Carrie Butler (mother)
860:, Regan Books, 2005.
508:"Was Strom a Rapist?"
433:(2005), written with
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312:civil rights movement
229:United States senator
834:on February 17, 2013
808:on February 17, 2013
614:Congressional Record
478:, December 16, 2004.
102:Essie Mae Washington
18:Essie Mae Washington
1053:American memoirists
930:, December 17, 2003
873:Marilyn W. Thompson
790:. February 4, 2013.
623:on January 10, 2017
446:National Book Award
281:New York University
246:National Book Award
772:. August 16, 2018.
752:The New York Times
678:2013-12-03 at the
593:The New York Times
567:The New York Times
476:The New York Times
420:
231:known for his pro-
148:Julius T. Williams
926:, Interview, CBS
788:Los Angeles Times
705:978-1-58648-392-0
652:Los Angeles Times
410:Legacy and honors
392:Congregationalist
351:Savannah, Georgia
339:Delta Sigma Theta
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770:Glamour.com
711:January 19,
658:January 19,
525:November 1,
372:, to honor
233:segregation
972:Categories
627:January 9,
512:The Nation
456:References
439:segregated
288:segregated
256:Early life
135:Occupation
64:1925-10-12
520:0027-8378
297:all-black
190:Relatives
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107:Education
676:Archived
183:(father)
169:Children
359:Seattle
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74:, U.S.
621:(PDF)
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398:Death
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157:(
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896:ISBN
881:ISBN
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840:2013
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629:2017
527:2020
516:ISSN
80:Died
54:Born
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