Black History Month Day 13 - Clara Belle Williams
Clara Belle Williams
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Belle_Williams
Clara Belle Williams
Born Clara Belle Drisdale
October 29 1885
LaGrange, Texas
Died July 3, 1994 (aged 108)
Citizenship United States
Education BA in English (1937)
Alma mater New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts (now New Mexico State University)
Occupation Teacher
Employer Booker T. Washington School, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Known for Being the first African-American graduate of New Mexico State University
Spouse(s) Jasper Williams (m. 1917)
Children Charles, Jasper, James
Clara Belle Williams (1885-1993) was the first African-American graduate of New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now New Mexico State University), became an educator, and raised sons who became doctors.
Early life and marriage
Williams was born Clara Belle Drisdale in Plum, Texas on October 29, 1885. She pursued her education on scholarship at the Prairie View Normal and Independent College, graduating as valedictorian in 1905.[1]
In 1910, she studied at The University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. She married Jasper Williams in 1917 and they had three sons.
College and graduate studies, teaching
In 1928 enrolled at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.[2] She earned her diploma with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1937, at the age of 51.[3] She was the first African-American to graduate from the New Mexico College. For the duration of her studies, professors did not allow her into the lecture halls; she took notes and attended classes in the hallway.[4] Williams continued her studies with graduate classes into the 1950s.[5]
Williams taught at Lincoln High School, which opened in an A.M.E. Church in Las Cruces after the institution of segregation removed African American students from integrated Las Cruces schools in the 1920s when state law allowed districts to segregate. She later taught at Booker T. Washington School at 755 East Chestnut after it opened in the 1930s.[6] in Las Cruces for over twenty years.[when?][7]
Family and legacy
All three of her son's became doctors: Jasper Jr., James, and Charles.[8][5][3] Williams worked as a receptionist for her sons' practices.[9]
In 1961, New Mexico State University named a street on its campus after Williams. In 1977, she was inducted into the National Education Association teachers' hall of fame. In 1980 Williams was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws degree by New Mexico State University, which also apologized for the treatment Williams was subjected to as a student.[10] In 2005 the building of the English department was renamed Clara Belle Williams Hall.[7] [1] New Mexico State University offers a scholarship for undergraduates in her memory.[9]
