Porsha Williams Shares Story Of Being Chased Down By KKK As A Child

BY Erika Marie 2.4K Views
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Porsha Williams
Porsha Williams was six-years-old when she attended her first protest march alongside her civil rights leader grandfather, Hosea Williams.

We're familiar with seeing Porsha Williams on Bravo TV's hit series Real Housewives of Atlanta season after season, but what many people don't know is that the reality star is a descendent of a famed civil rights leader. Hosea Williams worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was instrumental in fighting for the rights of Black people in America, and during a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Porsha revisited her ver first civil rights march when she was just six-years-old. According to the reality star, the group she was with was chased down by the KKK.

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"I was about six-years-old when I went to my first march," Porsha Williams said. "It was here in Forsyth County, Georgia, and I was excited to go, of course as a little kid, you finally get to go to work with your granddad, you hear he's doing all this stuff. We get out there and I'm excited, again, innocent, singing the songs, ‘We Shall Overcome," etc."

"We came across Ku Klux Klan, and they decided to protest our protest," she added. "They threw rocks at us, I actually got hit with one. They chased us all the way back to the buses, because we had busloads of people with us. They called us the n-word and any other thing the KKK would be calling us."

Porsha also stated that Forsyth County was known for its racism and "had actually driven out all of the African-Americans who lived there over the years." She added, "We were going to basically say, ‘No. We need to bring Black people in here.'” Although the concept of racism was something she didn't fully understand at six-years-old, the experience taught her a valuable lesson.

"What I got out of that was to keep going regardless," Williams said. "I never saw my grandfather stop, I never saw my dad stop. The movement is still continuing on and I think that is apart of what's inside of me that's not gonna stop. I know that people are protesting now, and I know that a lot of the times when the media stops covering it, it kind of dies down and ends. But it's not gonna stop this time." Watch Porsha Williams share her story below.


About The Author
Since 2019, Erika Marie has worked as a journalist for HotNewHipHop, covering music, film, television, art, fashion, politics, and all things regarding entertainment. With 20 years in the industry under her belt, Erika Marie moved from a writer on the graveyard shift at HNHH to becoming a Features Editor, highlighting long-form content and interviews with some of Hip Hop’s biggest stars. She has had the pleasure of sitting down with artists and personalities like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Salt ’N Pepa, Nick Cannon, Rah Digga, Rakim, Rapsody, Ari Lennox, Jacquees, Roxanne Shante, Yo-Yo, Sean Paul, Raven Symoné, Queen Naija, Ryan Destiny, DreamDoll, DaniLeigh, Sean Kingston, Reginae Carter, Jason Lee, Kamaiyah, Rome Flynn, Zonnique, Fantasia, and Just Blaze—just to name a few. In addition to one-on-one chats with influential public figures, Erika Marie also covers content connected to the culture. She’s attended and covered the BET Awards as well as private listening parties, the Rolling Loud festival, and other events that emphasize established and rising talents. Detroit-born and Long Beach (CA)-raised, Erika Marie has eclectic music taste that often helps direct the interests she focuses on here at HNHH. She finds it necessary to report on cultural conversations with respect and honor those on the mic and the hardworking teams that help get them there. Moreover, as an advocate for women, Erika Marie pays particular attention to the impact of femcees. She sits down with rising rappers for HNHH—like Big Jade, Kali, Rubi Rose, Armani Caesar, Amy Luciani, and Omerettà—to gain their perspectives on a fast-paced industry.