Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records (MSS-0008)

Biographical/Historical Note

Dorothy Hazard Witherby Hunt was born in Solvay, N.Y. on May 21, 1887 to Frederick R. Hazard and Dora G. (Sedgwick) Hazard. In 1923, she married S. Foster Hunt and moved to Rhode Island. In 1939, Hunt helped organize the Urban League of Rhode Island which she later served as president of for five years. After her death in 1970, she left $50,000 to the Urban League for the development of inter-racial relationships.

James N. Williams was born in Des Moines, Iowa on May 22, 1909. After receiving a B.A. in 1926 from Des Moines University, he attended school in New Jersey and New York City, eventually moving to Providence, RI in 1940 when he was appointed the Executive Director of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. He held this position until his retirement in 1970. Williams also was a member of several professional and civic organizations including the National Association of Social Workers and its Rhode Island chapter. He was presented honorary degrees from Brown University, Providence College, and Rhode Island College, and was the recipient of many awards and citations for community service, remaining active in the community after his retirement and until his death in 1987.