IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES
IOWA CITY, IOWA
CATHERINE GAYLE WILLIAMS
(1914- )
PAPERS, 1910-1991 (bulk 1942-1991)
1.3 linear feet and
audiovisual material
|
ACQUISITION: |
The papers (donor no. 336) were donated
by Catherine Williams in
1996. |
|
ACCESS: |
The papers are open for research. |
|
ARTIFACTS: |
In box 3. |
|
AUDIOVISUAL: |
»Six audiocassettes shelved in audiocassette collection [AC334-AC339]. |
|
COPYRIGHT: |
»Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa. |
|
PHOTOGRAPHS: |
»In boxes 1 and 2. |
|
PROCESSED
BY: |
Your name, year»Natalie S. Brody, 1996. |
|
REVISED: |
Robert Jett, August 12, 1998, version WORD97. |
Biography
Catherine Gayle Williams was born on November 21, 1914 in Des Moines,
Iowa, the fourth of Godfrey and Ethel Wells Williams's seven children. Although she graduated as valedictorian of
her class from North High School in 1932, she could not afford to go to
college. She pursued, instead, the
first of her two careers, tap dancing.
Williams began dancing in Chicago, toured in a number of large eastern
cities, lived in California for four years, where she appeared in several
movies, and in 1940 toured with the Hot
Mikado in which Bill "Bojangles" Robinson starred. During this time she married Charles
Atkinson, a dancer. They were divorced
in 1944. Williams meanwhile attended
the Cortez Peters Business College in Chicago (1942-1943). For a brief time she worked in an office
and, with a friend, started a
short-lived dress shop. When her
parents became ill, she returned to Des Moines in 1947.
Williams took
a job as a secretary with the Polk County Welfare Department and advanced to
Public Assistance Worker II by 1955.
She thus began her second career, in the field of social work. After thirteen years of part-time study at
Drake University, she graduated in 1961 with a degree in psychology and
sociology. In 1962 she was appointed to
the position of Public Welfare Supervisor.
The following year she took a two-year "educational leave" to
attend the School of Social Work at the State University of Iowa (now the
University of Iowa). She and Richard
Williams were married in 1963. He died
in 1995. In 1965 at the age of
fifty-one, she graduated and returned to the Polk County Welfare Department,
soon rising to the position of Social Work Supervisor IV. From 1975 to 1981 Williams was the Deputy
Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Social Services, and for a six-month
period in 1979 served as the acting Commissioner. At the time she retired in 1981, after thirty-two years of
service, she was the highest-ranking black official in the state
government. Throughout her career she
focused her concerns on the family and family relationships, initiating a
number of innovative programs in the Department of Social Services. After her retirement she became a consultant
in social and management systems for Johnson and Williams Associates.
Williams has
served on numerous boards and committees and has been honored extensively for
her contributions to the field of social work.
In 1980 she was named to the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame and cited as
Iowa's Social Worker of the Year. The
following year she received an Alumni Distinguished Service Award from Drake
University and an honorary degree from Simpson College. In 1990 she was awarded the YWCA/Mary Louise
Smith Racial Justice Award and the University of Iowa School of Social Work
Distinguished Alumnae Award.
Scope and Content Note
The Catherine Gayle Williams papers date
from 1942 to 1991, including some
undated items from approximately the 1910s, and measure »1.3 linear feet.
The papers are arranged in seven series: Biographical
information, Education, Racial concerns, Retirement, Writings, Photographs, and
Delta Sigma Theta.
The Biographical information series (1942-1991)
includes a taped interview with Williams by David A. Smith. A copy of his master's thesis based on these
interviews is filed with printed works in the Iowa Womens Archives Materials relating to awards Williams
received and a scrapbook (disbound) of events in her life, which includes
photographs, complete the series.
Williams's 1965 master's thesis, "Attitudes toward
Adoptions in the Negro Community of Des Moines"; papers she wrote as a
student; and some class notes comprise the Education series (1960-1965,
1982).
The Racial concerns series
(1968-1970 and undated) encompasses varied topics, including seminar and
workshop materials, bibliographies, and the "Racial
Ethnic Census Report" of the Iowa Public Schools, 1968-l969.
In 1981 Williams was honored for her
thirty-two years of service at the Iowa Department of Social Services. The Retirement series (1981) includes
letters and articles of tribute to Williams.
The Writings series
(1968-1982 and undated) comprises reports Williams wrote and lectures she
delivered.
The Photographs series
([1910s], 1940s-1980s and undated) contains photographs of Williams, her
family, and friends.
Williams was a member of the Phi
chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, a prominent national black sorority,
founded in 1913 at Howard University.
The Delta Sigma Theta series (1947-1989, scattered) includes
materials about the national organization and the Phi chapter in Des Moines
which was organized in 1923. Copies of The Delta newsletter and journal
complete the series.
Related Collecton
Verda
Williams papers.
The Verda Williams papers contain three interviews on
audio cassettes [AC392, AC393, and AC394] with Catherine Williams conducted for
the video "Black Des Moines: Voices Seldom Heard"
Box no. Description
Box 1
Biographical information
Awards, 1980, 1981, 1991
General background, 1942-1983 (scattered)
"A Role Model for Social Work: Catherine Gayle
Williams," David A. Smith, Master of Social Work, School of Social Work,
University of Iowa, December 1982 [shelved in printed works collection]
Interview by David A. Smith, 1982 [shelved in
audiocassette collection]
Early years of Catherine Gayle Williams [AC334]
Dancing years [AC335, AC336]
Return to Des Moines [AC337]
Government Office of Social Services
[AC338]
End of interview and interview with Richard Williams
[AC339]
Scrapbook (disbound), 1942-1991 (scattered)
[includes
photographs]
Education
Class Notes, 1960, 1982
Papers, 1963-1965
"Attitudes toward Adoptions in the Negro
Community of Des Moines," Catherine Williams, Master of Arts, School of
Social Work, State University of Iowa, June 1965 [shelved in printed works
collection]
Racial concerns
Bibliographies and miscellaneous articles, undated
Des Moines In-service Workshop, August 18-23, 1968
"Racial Ethnic Census Report," Iowa Public
Schools, 1969-1970
Research seminar, "American Black People Living
in the United States," School of Social Work, University of Iowa, Fall
1970
Retirement, 1981
Scrapbook (disbound)
Scrapbook, "In Appreciation" [oversize: in
box 4]
Box 2
Supplement
Writings
Lectures, 1971-1982 (scattered) and undated
Reports, 1968, 1970, 1987
Photographs, [1910s], 1940s-1980s and
undated
Delta Sigma Theta
General, 1954-1965
Artifacts, 1953-1954 and undated [in box 3]
Phi chapter, 1951-1987
The Delta
Journal
1947, 1957, 1964
1966, 1967, 1988-1989
Newsletters, 1957-1967, 1988-1989
Memorabilia, 1951-1965
Scrapbook, 1951-1957 (disbound)
Box 3
Artifacts:
Delta Sigma Theta
Artifacts, 1953-1954 and undated
Box 4
Oversize:
Retirement, 1981
Scrapbook, "In Appreciation"