Hazel Browne Williams, Lincoln High School

Born on February 9, 1907, Hazel Browne Williams would become an educator who overcame racism to become the first full-time Black professor at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. After graduating from Lincoln High School in Kansas City, Missouri, she would pursue a degree in education at the University of Kansas, receiving her bachelor's in 1927 and her master's in 1929. After teaching at the Louisville Community College, Williams would continue her education, achieving a master's degree in guidance and counseling from Columbia University and culminating with a Ph.D from New York University in 1953. Beginning her career at UMKC in 1958 as an associate professor, she would later become the first fulltime African American professor at UMKC in the 1960s. She passed away on July 7, 1986, after a lifetime of perseverance and breaking both racial and gender barriers.

1. Dr. Hazel Browne Williams, African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City, MO. Accessed August 14th, 2022. https://aahtkc.org/hazel-browne-williams.
2. Lincoln High School, African American Heritage Trail of Kansas City, MO. Accessed August 14th, 2022. https://aahtkc.org/lincolnhighschool.
3. Riley, Kimberly R.. Hazel Browne Williams, Educator (1907-1986), Kansas City History. 1999. Accessed August 14th, 2022. https://kchistory.org/document/biography-hazel-browne-williams-1907-1986-educator.