Clara Belle Williams

Williams was born Clara Belle Drisdale in Plum, Texas on October 29, 1885. She pursued her education on scholarship at the Prairie View Normal and Independent College, graduating as valedictorian in 1905.[1]

In 1910, she studied at The University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. She married Jasper Williams in 1917 and they had three sons.

In 1928 enrolled at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.[2] She earned her diploma with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1937, at the age of 51.[3] She was the first African-American to graduate from the New Mexico College. For the duration of her studies, professors did not allow her into the lecture halls; she took notes and attended classes in the hallway.[4] Williams continued her studies with graduate classes into the 1950s.[5]

Williams taught at Lincoln High School, which opened in an A.M.E. Church in Las Cruces after the institution of segregation removed African American students from integrated Las Cruces schools in the 1920s when state law allowed districts to segregate. She later taught at Booker T. Washington School[6] in Las Cruces for over twenty years, after it opened in the 1930s.[7]

All three of her sons became doctors: Jasper Jr., James, and Charles.[8][5][3] Williams worked as a receptionist for her sons' practices.[9]

In 1961, New Mexico State University named a street on its campus after Williams. In 1977, she was inducted into the National Education Association teachers' hall of fame. In 1980 Williams was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws degree by New Mexico State University, which also apologized for the treatment Williams was subjected to as a student.[10] In 2005 the building of the English department was renamed Clara Belle Williams Hall.[7][1] New Mexico State University offers a scholarship for undergraduates in her memory.[9]