Williamson, Juanita V. (Juanita Virginia), 1917-1993

Dates

• Existence: 1917 - 1993

Biographical Statement

Juanita Virginia Williamson was a linguist and educator who taught English at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee, for over forty years. Her research focused on Black speech patterns in the American South.

Williamson was born in Shelby, Mississippi, on January 18, 1917, to John M. and Alice McAllister Williamson. She attended public school in Memphis and graduated from Booker T. Washington School. Williamson received her bachelor's degree in English and Romance Languages from LeMoyne-Owen College (1938), her master's degree in English Literature from Atlanta University (1948), and her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Michigan (1961). She joined the faculty at Le-Moyne-Owen College in 1947and also served as a consultant and advisor to many other universities. Dr. Williamson received grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation, American Council of Learned Societies and the United Negro College Fund, which allowed her to study Black speech patterns in the South. Her book, A Various Language (1947, co-authored with Virginia M. Burke) and other publications and articles earned Williamson a national reputation in the area of linguistics.

Juanita V. Williamson passed away on August 8, 1993, in Memphis. The Juanita Williamson Academic Excellence Award at LeMoyne-Owen College is named in her honor.

Citation:

Author: Christopher Harter

Citation:

Jet. September 27, 1993, p. 18.

DeCosta-Willis, Miriam. Notable Black Memphians. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2008, pp. 344-345.

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