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Essie Mae Washington-Williams (October 12, 1925 – February 4, 2013) was an American teacher, author, and writer. She is best known as the natural and oldest child of Strom Thurmond, Governor of South Carolina and longtime United States Senator, known for his pro-racial segregation policies.〔( Janofsky, Michael. "Thurmond Kin Acknowledge Black Daughter" ), ''The New York Times'', December 16, 2004〕 Of mixed race, she was born to Carrie Butler, a 16-year-old black girl who worked as a household servant for Thurmond's parents, and Thurmond, then 22 and unmarried. Washington-Williams grew up in the family of one of her mother's sisters, not learning of her biological parents until 1938 when her mother came for a visit and informed Essie Mae she was her mother.〔Washington-Williams, Essie Mae (2005). Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. Harper, p.13.〕 She graduated from college, earned a master's degree, married and had a family, and had a 30-year professional career in education. Washington-Williams did not reveal her biological father's identity until she was 78 years old, after Thurmond's death in 2003. He had paid for her college education, and took an interest in her and her family all his life. In 2005, she published her autobiography, which was nominated for the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. ==Early life== Washington was the daughter of Carrie Butler, who was 16 when her daughter was born, and Strom Thurmond, then 22. Butler worked as a domestic servant for Thurmond's parents. She sent her daughter from South Carolina to her older sister Mary and her husband John Henry Washington to be raised in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. 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.〔Gross, Terry (February 1, 2005). (Dear Senator', from Strom Thurmond's Daughter" ), National Public Radio.〕 Washington was unaware of the identity of her biological parents until 1941, when she was 16. Her mother told her the full story then and took her to meet Thurmond in person.〔.〕 Washington and her mother met infrequently with Thurmond after that, although they had some contact for years.〔Maslin, Janet (January 17, 2005). ( "A Thurmond Child Looks at Her Life and His Racism" ), ''The New York Times'', retrieved March 27, 2009〕 After high school, Washington-Williams worked as a nurse at Harlem Hospital in New York City, and took a course in business education at New York University. She did not visit the segregated South until 1942, when she met relatives in Edgefield. After having grown up in Pennsylvania, Washington 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 World War II, she started college at the all-black South Carolina State College (SCSC) in the Fall of 1947.〔Washington-Williams, Essie Mae (2005). Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. Harper, p.128.〕 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 Washington-Williams dropped out of college in the Summer of 1949 to begin raising the first of her four children.〔Washington-Williams, Essie Mae (2005). Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond. Harper, p.151.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Essie Mae Washington-Williams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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