EvelynDilworth-Williams
*Evelyn Dilworth-Williams was born on this date in 1945. She was a Black poet, teacher, author, and motivational speaker.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Williams is the seventh child of Guy and Bertha Dilworth, one of nine siblings, with six older and three younger siblings. She spent her early childhood living in the mining and farm communities of Edgewater and Panola. As a teenager and young adult, she actively participated in the 1963 American Civil Rights Movement and Voter Rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama.
She received her BA in Sociology from Miles College in Fairfield, Alabama. She is also a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, holding a Master's Degree from the Graduate School of Education in Guidance and Counseling, with additional studies in Family Counseling. She is also a certified parenting facilitator, as designated by Active Parenting Publishers of Atlanta, Georgia. Williams is the author of three collections of poetry: Panola: My Kinfolks' Land, Morning Promises & My Evening Songs, and Polishing the Apples: Children's Poetry.
Her poetry reflects her cultural heritage, spirituality, and daily lifestyle. Williams also utilizes poetry as a counseling tool for today's youth, encouraging them to take responsibility for their lives and harness their natural gifts and talents to improve the world. The historical struggles of Black people worldwide greatly influence her poetry. She is also the author of "Pass It On: Echoes and Shadows," a song-dance/monologue historical fiction written in dialect about the heritage of Black America. Her parents' emphasis on education enriched her life enormously, a value that resonates throughout her poetry.
Williams died on April 25, 2019, as a wife, mother of two married sons, and grandmother. Her two sons and other youth in her family are believers in education and are college graduates.
