Today marks the first day of Black History Month! I’m always excited about this. It just really humbles and inspires my mood with how far we’ve come… all the things we’ve accomplished.. and all the things we’ve overcome. As oppose to last year where I named a moment in black history that reflected the day it was (i.e. February 1, 1863), I’m going a different route this year. This year.. I will spotlight someone different every day.
Camilla Williams, a Danville, VA native, was the first African-American woman to be under a contract with the New York Opera.. “Madame Butterfly” in 1946. In 1963, Williams sang the Star Spangled Banner at the White House right before Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. She continued her career as a professor of voice at Indiana University until 1997, when she retired. In 2007, The Library of Virginia honored Williams as one of the eight women to be included in the Virginia Women in History project. Sadly, CamillaWilliams just went on to be with the Lord last Sunday, January 29, at the tender age of 92 in Bloomington, Indiana.
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