Contains a picture of Washington-Williams at 22
‘She’s a quiet person, a very thoughtful person’ After keeping a secret for 7 decades, Strom Thurmond’s daughter speaks out
by VALERIE BAUERLEIN and LAUREN MARKOE
The State
When the other girls at S.C. State College were wearing bobby socks and saddle shoes, Essie Mae Washington-Williams was in hose and heels.
Friends then and now describe her as poised and charming — a class treasurer who married a member of S.C. State’s first law school class.
“She seemed a little more mature than the rest of us,” said Thelma Little of Brooklyn, N.Y., S.C. State class of 1947.