By Bonnie Withers

The story of Francis Barrier Williams (1855-1944) gives us an example of a phenomenon described in last week’s service, namely, the gap between personal friendships between races and belief in wide-ranging equality. Francis grew up in mostly white Brockport, New York in a professional Black family where she enjoyed comfortable social relations with Whites and Blacks. This bright and talented young woman went to Washington, D.C. to enroll in a painting class. Disturbed to discover that the instructor had set up screens shielding her from the White students, she headed north to Boston to a music school. There she was told that the White students threatened to leave if she enrolled. Fannie married a young Black lawyer and moved with him to the South side of Chicago. 

Fannie made many friends among the arts community, both Whites and Blacks. With these social connections, she tried to get jobs for Black women and soon found that her individual friendships did not translate to help in the employment realms. “Not good for business.” She joined the Unitarian Church of All Souls and became friends with the minister, Jenkin Lloyd Jones. When the Columbian Exposition came to the city in 1893, Jones helped Francis get a position on the planning board for the Parliament of Religions, a first for a Black woman. She delivered a speech entitled “Religious Duty to the Negro” which, combined with a piano concert, brought her many invitations to speak and perform and brought her fame. Fannie finally found a way to make her voice count in the struggle against racism. 

Source: UUA: Black  UU Ancestors: Four Stories