Who is Goldie Williams?

I was watching the Netflix series, Master of None that stars Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe. If you haven’t seen it do yourself a favor and check it out.

Anyway, in their latest season the character Denise played by Lena Waithe, is a writer and is doing an interview at her and her girlfriend’s home. The journalist asks if the girlfriend would sit in on the interview and tell a little about herself and what she does for a living. Denise’s girlfriend, Alicia, played by British actress, Naomi Ackie explains she’s an interior designer. The journalist comments about a photo hanging on Alicia and Denise’s wall. Alicia let’s her know who is in the photo and gives the history of it. Once I heard this news, I researched for myself. Ladies and gentlemen of Chocolate Cocaine let me introduce to you, Goldie Williams!

Goldie Williams, also known as Mag Murphy, listed her occupation as a prostitute. Originally from Chicago, Goldie moved to Omaha, Nebraska when the city experienced a growth due to the railroad and stockyard industry providing work opportunities for Black people. Goldie went where the money resides!

On January 29, 1898, Goldie was arrested for vagrancy. According to her police record this 5-foot-tall, 110-pound sista had a broken left index finger and a cut below her right wrist. In defiance of her arrest, Goldie refused to uncross her arms and unscrew her face. Standing in the police station with her fancy hat of ribbons and feathers and wearing her cute hoop earrings, she continued to make faces every time they took her photo.

As you can see in the mugshot below, Goldie obviously won the fight. If you look closely at the photo, you can see her name, alias, and her prison number, 228. This sassy sista was probably just as tired of those officers as some of us are today. Even in the 1800s and being a prostitute, Goldie’s stance clearly said, “Black Lives Matter!”

Prison ID Number: 

#228

Criminal Offense: 

Vagrancy

Offense Location: 

Omaha Police Court

Erotically Speaking,
Karma Eve

You can listen to the podcast version of this episode here: https://anchor.fm/karma-eve/episodes/Who-is-Goldie-Williams-e134maq