GRACE TOWNS HAMILTON
The name Grace Towns Hamilton deserves to be well-known by generations of people who champion equal rights. Born on February 10, 1907, Grace Towns Hamilton became the first black woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly, serving from 1966 to 1984, after a career in civic involvement and the promotion of civil rights.
From 1943 to 1960, Grace Towns Hamilton lead ULGA’s predecessor, the Atlanta Urban League, establishing our agency as a prominent civil and equal rights organization in the area. She embraced and promoted issues of housing, health care, schools and voter registration here at a time when the push for civil rights was becoming a mass movement throughout the nation. In 1964, she co-founded the biracial Partners for Progress to help government and the private sector in Atlanta comply with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She crafted the revision of the Atlanta City Charter in 1973 and was an advisor to the United States Civil Rights Commission from 1985 to 1987.
Grace Towns Hamilton died on June 17, 1992, leaving a legacy of compassion, accomplishment and commitment to uplifting humanity that serves to inspire us all.
