Reverend Hosea Williams

Reverend Hosea Williams was raised by his grandparents in Georgia before spending some time in Tallahassee, Florida as a teenager. During World War Two, Williams enlisted in the United States Army and worked his way to staff sergeant in an all-black unit before being wounded by shrapnel. When he returned to the United States he completed his education through to a master's degree and worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Savannah, Georgia from 1952-1963. In Savannah, Williams joined the NAACP as well as the Southeastern Georgia Crusade for Voters in 1960 and the SCLC in 1962. In 1964 he as well as his wife and two of their children were arrested in St. Augustine, Florida for protesting segregation. In 1965 he helped to organize the march from Selma to Montgomery and led the march on Bloody Sunday. Williams continued to participate in and organize different civil rights movements across the nation. In 1974 he was elected to the Georgia General Assembly and would later be elected to the Atlanta City council and become a DeKalb County commissioner.