Essie Mae Washington-Williams

Essie Mae Washington-Williams
Washington-Williams in 2003
Born	Essie Mae Butler (1925-10-12)October 12, 1925 Edgefield, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 4, 2013(2013-02-04) (aged 87) Columbia, South Carolina, U.S.
Other names	Essie Mae Washington
Education	South Carolina State College California State University, Los Angeles (BA) University of Southern California (MEd)
Occupation	Teacher
Spouse	Julius T. Williams ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 1964)​
Children	4
Parent(s)	Strom Thurmond (father) Carrie Butler (mother)
Relatives	James Strom Thurmond Jr. (half-brother) Paul Thurmond (half-brother)

Essie Mae Washington-Williams (née Butler; October 12, 1925 – February 4, 2013) was an American teacher and author. She was the eldest child of Strom Thurmond, Governor of South Carolina (1947–1951) and longtime United States senator known for his pro-segregation politics.^[1] Of mixed race, she was born to Carrie Butler, a 16-year-old African-American girl who worked as a domestic servant for Thurmond's parents, and Thurmond, then 22 and unmarried. Essie Mae 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.^[2]: 13 She graduated from college, earned a master's degree, married, raised a family, and had a 30-year professional career in education.

Washington-Williams did not reveal her father's identity until she was almost 78 years old, after Thurmond's death at the age of 100 in 2003. Though he had little to do with her upbringing, 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, Dear Senator: A Memoir by the Daughter of Strom Thurmond, which was nominated for the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.