Aileen Theodora Williams (1924-2015) was a Black Canadian activist and founding member of the Canadian Women's Negro Association (CANEWA).

Early life

The daughter of Frances Louise Gollinger and William Bertram Gollinger, Williams was born Aileen Gollinger in Toronto and educated at Duke of York Public School and

Northern Secondary School Northern Secondary School (often referred to as Northern Secondary, Northern, or NSS) is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to Amalgama ...

. She attended the First Baptist Church in Toronto, and often attended events at the Universal Negro Improvement Association Hall (UNIA) during her teenage years.

Career

In 1940, Williams joined as a member of the Dilettantes (later known as Canadian Negro Women's Association), a social club of Black women in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Along with Kay Livingstone and Phyllis Simmons Brooks, Williams was instrumental in reshaping the group to form the Canadian Women's Negro Club (later Association), CANEWA, which focused on addressing social problems and establishing scholarships and bursaries in support of Black youth. She also worked closely with

Penny Hodge Penelope "Penny" Hodge (1920 – July 5, 2016) was a Canadian office worker and Activism, activist. Life and career The daughter of Martin Anderson, a Baptist preacher, and Alfaretta Berry, a teacher, she was born Penelope Anderson in Digby, ...

. She served as secretary for a number of years and as president on two occasions, 1953-1954 and 1973–1974. In 1973 she played a crucial role in organizing the first meeting of the National

Congress of Black Women of Canada The Congress of Black Women of Canada (CBWC) / , which began in 1973, is a national non-profit organization that "is dedicated to improving the lives of all Black women and their families in their local and national communities." It arose to organi ...

(NCBWC), which was held at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto. It took place after 18 months of planning and saw 200 black women in attendance including representation from the Coloured Women's Club (Montreal), the Negro Women's Professional Club (Halifax), the Grand Order of the Eastern Star (Toronto), amongst others all to focus on "a serious consideration of the issues vital to the Black community." Williams was actively involved in the Ontario Black History Society, serving as its vice-president in the 1980s. In addition to her volunteer work, Williams held jobs at a number of companies and government organizations including

Simpson's The Robert Simpson Company Limited, commonly known as Simpson's until 1972, then as Simpsons, and in Quebec sometimes as Simpson, was a Canadian department store chain that had its earliest roots in a store opened in 1858 by Robert Simpson. I ...

department store in Toronto,

Metro-Goldwyn Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

Pictures of Canada, the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, and the Ontario Ministry of Revenue. Aileen Williams was presented with an Ontario Senior Achievement Award in 2008. When speaking to The Toronto Observer at the event, William's said in regard to African Canadians living in Toronto in 1940, “We never used to have any voice back then,” she said. “Things have improved a lot.” She died in

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

on August 31, 2015. Williams is one of nine women included as posthumous honourees in the book "100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women - 2016 1st Edition" by Ms. Dauna E Jones-Simmonds, Hon. Dr.

Jean Augustine Jean Augustine (born September 9, 1937) is a Grenada-born Canadian politician. She was the first Black Canadian woman to serve as a federal Minister of the Crown and Member of Parliament. From 1993 to 2006, Jean Augustine was a Liberal member ...

and Dr. Denise O'Neil Green.

References

External links

Ontario Black History Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Aileen 1924 births 2015 deaths Canadian activists Black Canadian women Canadian women activists African-Canadian feminism Northern Secondary School alumni