Essie Mae Washington-Williams’s Followers (4)

Essie Mae Washington-Williams

Born

in Edgefield, South Carolina, The United States

October 12, 1925

Died

February 04, 2013

Genre

Memoir

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Essie Mae Washington-Williams was an American educator and author best known for her memoir, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. In the book, she revealed that she was the daughter of longtime U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond and Carrie Butler, a Black teenager who had worked as a maid for Thurmond’s family.

Raised by relatives and unaware of her parentage until her teenage years, Washington-Williams went on to earn a college degree and a master’s in education. She built a successful 30-year career as a teacher, married, and raised a family.

Though she kept her father’s identity private for most of her life, she publicly disclosed the relationship in 2003, after Thurmond’s death. Her memoir, published in 2005, was widely accl ...more

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Essie Mae Washington-Williams’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 1,196 ratings · 116 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond 3.95 avg rating — 1,196 ratings — published 2005 — 21 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Essie Mae Washington-Williams with Dr. Gail Saltz at the 92nd Street Y by Essie Mae Washington-Williams, Gail Saltz (Goodreads Author) (Narrator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Quotes by Essie Mae Washington-Williams (?)

“Not inferior. Different! Different! Imagine! To compare me to Hitler. Not that I haven’t heard it in that campaign. I heard everything. But to hear it from you. Essie Mae…You can’t change the South.”

“You don’t want to, sir.”

“Oh yes I do. I’m changing it right now, by having you here, getting a fine education, to get you a fine career. There’s nothing in this country you won’t be able to do, Essie Mae. Nothing at all. Nothing your husband won’t be able to do.”

“We can’t get served at the counter at Woolworth’s.”

“Why would you want to? The food’s no good. I bet these restaurants right over here are much better. They serve good fresh food. I know they do. You can’t get a vegetable at Woolworth’s. I’ve never seen spinach, green beans at the five and dime. What do you want, a hot dog that will kill you?”

“I guess I want the choice, Governor.”
― Essie Mae Washington-Williams, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond

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“Stop saying they lost. They may have lost up where we live now, but down here they think things are the same. They think they won. And look around, child. Maybe they did.”
― Essie Mae Washington-Williams, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond

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