Hattie’s Book: A Woman’s Life in a City’s History

Hattie Belle Kay Williams was born in December of 1922 on South Lake Park Avenue in Chicago, living on that street until her death in 1990. She was a poor but powerful, determined black woman who fought against the powers of public policy using both charity and social action undergirded by her deep and abiding faith in God. In her home, which contained a food pantry and clothes closet, she organized GED classes and classes on self-esteem, sewing, budgeting, cooking. Her outreach into the suburban white churches of Chicago brought greatly needed donations of money, food, clothing, and furniture. She was politically active in the school boycotts of the 1960s and ran for the office of alderman in 1973. Excerpts from several interviews of Hattie tell of her work in her own words. In this book the history of the public policies that built and enforced the segregation of black citizens of Chicago are interwoven with the story of Hattie’s life.