Woman at center of Civil Rights Movement celebrates 108th birthday

[steve2470]

https://www.11alive.com/article/life/family/seniors/leila-williams-birthday-leilas-dinnette/85-d3f3a3e2-dccf-495e-b876-18f3a707bf92

(video at article)

ATLANTA- A woman whose restaurant was at the center of the Civil Rights Movement is celebrating a milestone on Saturday. Leila Williams is turning 108.

Williams was born on November 14, 1914, according to her family.

From 1949 until the early 90s, her cooking skills became famous in Southwest Atlanta and her small restaurant on Fair Street -- Leila's Dinette -- gained fame.

“What really stands out in my mind in my memory is her cooking, and actually and how she reached out to so many people,” said Charlotte Webb, her goddaughter.

For more than 40 years, during the most tumultuous times of the Civil Rights Movement, Leila's Dinette not only became a headquarters for college students, but also a haven for some of the most important civil rights leaders of our time.

[abqtommy]

1. Thanks for this. We can't have too many heroes or heroines! Leila, I salute you!