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by Wanda Sabir
On Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, Mrs. Sadie Williams held court at ILWU Local 10 in San Francisco. She wore a lovely white dress, a lavender flower lei, and just above her heart, a pendant with her beloved husband, Cleophas, on her neck. Further adornment was unnecessary.
Surrounded by over 400 people – five generations of living kin, friends and admirers from across the country – Sister Sadie sat in a throne chair, later mingling with guests and even leading the drill team around the great hall. She was, of course, in her classy red, motorized scooter. “SADIE 100” in huge neon letters surrounded by balloons was a centerpiece near the podium where Brother Cleophas once called meetings to order, as the first Black president of International Longshoreman & Warehouse Union Local 10.
The beautiful historic room – its high domed ceiling with geometric shapes, tables decorated in lavender, purples, gold and white – was full of laughter and smiles as the guest of honor sat facing us. A slide show showed her in various periods of her life with her husband, family and friends. A world traveler, we got to reminisce with her.
A lovely buffet was served, Rev. Sauls, her longtime friend and former pastor at Downs Memorial United Methodist Church, where Sister Sadie is still a member, led the opening prayer and reading: “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” 1st Corinthians 13. One of her grandsons led us in a variety of Happy Birthday songs.
She was honored with Special Recognition by the Hon. Barbara Lee, ILWU Local 10, ILWU Local 10 Pensioners, who gave her lovely plaques and flowers. Africa University, Zimbabwe, gave her a special scarf and pen. She had so many bouquets and plaques, her great-great-granddaughters carried them for her. The girls were so cute walking or skipping along next to her scooter. Instead of presents, Sister Sadie would like us to contribute to the Africa University Development Office: P.O. Box 340007, Nashville, TN 37203-0007, 613-340-7438, support.africau.org
Born in Houston, Texas, Feb. 24, 1924, the second of two daughters, Sadie Mae Carter Williams went to Emma Jewell Hughes Business College after high school. She parlayed this training into a job in California during World War II at Golden State Life Insurance Co. In the 1950s, she managed the Booker T. Washington Hotel in San Francisco, the second largest Black hotel on the Pacific Coast. There, Sister Sadie says in “Cleophas Williams: My Life Story in the ILWU Local 10” (2023), her husband’s recent book published posthumously, that she met many celebrities at the hotel among them Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis. An entrepreneur, Sister Sadie owned and operated a consignment business called EUREKA, high-quality clothes. Her motto was: “Clothes at live and let live prices.” Her business was part of the Oakland Mayor’s Youth Jobs Program.
Sister Sadie was Captain Sadie in the Nation of Islam at Mosque 26 on Fillmore and Geary. This is where I met her 55 years ago. She and 1st Lt. Hajjah Nida Ali (Aṣe) were certainly fascinating leaders: both smart, savvy, elegant businesswomen who gave this youngster something to aim for. Sister Sadie modeled independence and love. She and Brother Cleophas were what partnership looked like when two people lift rather than diminish one another. Both parties were better for the relationship. She and her husband were a team, in spirit and in reality … reality now spirit. Aṣe.
Sister Sadie became a painter at 95 and had a solo art show. A catalog was for sale. She received an award for Outstanding Community and Exemplary Positive Living, presented by the Circle of Positive Women. She was a member of Black Women Stirring the Waters and has a chapter in the anthology. She is included in “Preservers of Negro Spirituals,” an Oral History Project-Heritage Keepers for the Library of Congress. She is a member of the National Council of Negro Women and a Life Member of the NAACP.
Happy 100th birth year, Sister Sadie! And many more!
Bay View Arts and Culture Editor Wanda Sabir can be reached at wanda@wandaspicks.com. Visit her website at www.wandaspicks.com throughout the month for updates to Wanda’s Picks, her blog, photos and Wanda’s Picks Radio. Her shows are streamed live Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 a.m., can be heard by phone at 347-237-4610 and are archived at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wandas-picks.
