Aileen Williams

Aileen Theodora Williams (1924-2015) was a Black Canadian activist and founding member of the Canadian Women's Negro Association (CANEWA).

Early life The daughter of Frances Louise Gollinger and William Bertram Gollinger, Williams was born Aileen Gollinger in Toronto and educated at Duke of York Public School and Northern Secondary School.

Career In 1940, Williams joined as a member of the Dilettantes (later known as Canadian Negro Women's Association), a social club of Black women in Toronto. Along with Kay Livingstone and Phyllis Simmons Brooks, Williams was instrumental in reshaping the group to form the Canadian Women's Negro Club (later Association), CANEWA, which focused on addressing social problems and establishing scholarships and bursaries in support of Black youth. She also worked closely with Penny Hodge. She served as secretary for a number of years and as president on two occasions, 1953-1954 and 1973–1974. In 1973 she played a crucial role in organizing the first meeting of the National Congress of Black Women of Canada (NCBWC), which was held at the Westbury Hotel in Toronto. It took place after 18 months of planning and saw 200 black women in attendance including representation from the Coloured Women's Club (Montreal), the Negro Women's Professional Club (Halifax), the Grand Order of the Eastern Star (Toronto), amongst others all to focus on "a serious consideration of the issues vital to the Black community." Williams was actively involved in the Ontario Black History Society, serving as its vice-president in the 1980s. When speaking to The Toronto Observer at the event, William's said in regard to African Canadians living in Toronto in 1940, “We never used to have any voice back then,” she said. “Things have improved a lot.”

She died in Mississauga on August 31, 2015.