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.
The Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records document some of the programs and activities of the Urban League of Rhode Island, Inc. from its inception to 1975. The collection consists of three years of correspondence concerning an agreement with local hospitals in Rhode Island for inclusion of Black women in nurse training programs. The collection also includes some of the correspondence and yearly activities of the Urban League from 1955 to 1975. Additionally, the collection contains the 20th Annual Report of the Urban League which highlights their activities and names of officers and members of the Board of Directors from 1939 to 1958. The collection also includes newspaper clippings on race relations locally and nationally from 1942 to 1944, as well as literature regarding the Poll Tax in the United States and efforts for its abolishment.
Both Hunt and Williams were passionate about the advancement of Black nurses and artists in Rhode Island. Included are news clippings, ephemera, and correspondence regarding two art exhibits showcasing Black artists hosted by Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design.
Rhode Island College Special Collections holds copyright to materials in this collection created by James N. Williams. The collection contains materials not created by Williams, which may be under copyright restrictions. Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights to all materials in this collection. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research.
Dorothy Hunt and James Williams Urban League records, MSS-0008, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College.
This collection is arranged in the order it was received.
The collection was donated in 1977 by James N. Williams and a donation agreement was signed at the time.
The collection was inventoried by Michael Kohl, assistant librarian at Rhode Island College Special Collections, in 1977. The collection was rehoused, described, and the finding aid converted to current archival standards by Erica Florenz, Special Collections Assistant, under the supervision of Veronica Denison, Digital Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, in 2022. At that time, materials related to Dorothy Hunt’s records of the Mayor’s Recreation Advisory Committee were separated from the collection and made into their own collection.
Works used in preparation of inventory:
"Mrs. S.F. Hunt Dies; Urban League Leader," Providence Journal, July 4, 1970, p.11.
“A Pioneer used tact, not threats,” Providence Evening Bulletin, June 1978, p. A-3.
Beth Hurd,
Rhode Island College, Adams Library Special Collections also holds
The Rhode Island Historical Society holds records relating to Dorothy Hunt’s family:
Phillips Memorial Library, Archives and Special Collections at Providence Collection holds the records of the Urban League:
Publications were removed from the collection and added to the Adams Library Special Collections book collections. Please ask the Special Collections for further information.
This collection has not been digitized. For information about obtaining digital copies, please contact Adams Library Special Collections at Rhode Island College.