Elizabeth Williams (photographer)


Elizabeth "Tex" Williams is an American photographer. She joined the Women's Army Corps in 1944 at the age of 20 as one of the few African-American women photographers in the military.

Life and education

Williams was born in Houston in 1924, where she was raised in a working-class family. She served in the Women's Army Corps, where she was stationed in Iowa and Arizona. She later retired to Huachuca City, Arizona.
Williams was educated at Photographic Division School in New Jersey with honors and graduated as valedictorian because the army did not allow African Americans in the military's school for photography.

Career

Williams worked in the Women's Army Corps as a photographer from 1944 to 1970. She was stationed at the all-black base in Iowa because the military was still segregated.
Williams photographed all things military. She took intelligence photos, medicine, defense, and ID pictures. Since the military was segregated until the Executive Order 9981, she had taken many photos of African Americans. Within and outside of the military, Williams photographed the "New Negro" that changed the stereotypical narrative of African Africans. Cameras were her mask from the violence of the military.

Significance

Williams is considered by many to be a pioneer black woman photographer in a society where few are acknowledged for their talents and works or even known. Scholars have argued that she defied the odds by being a successful black woman photographer. She was also the only women to photograph the air force.
Williams became one of the few African Americans and women to do photography for the military. According to scholars, the intersectionality of race and gender were major forces stacked against her. It was hard for African Americans and women to become successful photographers especially in the military. Scholars have reported that women of the time were supposed to take pictures only for nightclubs. Also, African Americans were barred from army photography schools and training programs, so she had to go to Photographic Division School in New Jersey, where she was the first woman and African American to graduate from there.