I was born in a small town (Mound City) in Southern, Illinois.
My parents were Leslie W. and Mary A. Treadwell. I attended Lovejoy
Grade School, Carver Junior High and graduated from Lovejoy Senior
High School. I attended Illinois State University at Normal, Illinois.
In August, 1955, I married Paul S. Hursey and to this union, two
children were born, a son, Paul S. Hursey, Jr., and a daughter,
Shirese S. Hursey.
I started my community service at an early age particularly in
the area of discrimination in housing. In the political arena,
I supported Kenneth Stratton in his quest for a seat on the Champaign
City Council. After seven years of living in Champaign, we moved
to Urbana. I became involved in the politics of the City of Urbana
and was effective in getting support of the people to elect my
husband to the Urbana City Council. He was elected in 1964 - the
first African-American to fill that position. Together, we were
involved in the effort to form the Hays Neighborhood Association
to improve the educational opportunities for the children attending
the neighborhood school. I was very supportive of Evelyn Underwood,
the first African-American elected to the Urbana School Board.
As a member of the Bethel AME Church, I became the Youth Choir
Director. I also joined the League of Women Voters, the Council
for Community Integration and other organizations in the church
and the community in an attempt to improve opportunities in education
and employment. For
the above mentioned efforts, I was honored by the State of Illinois
House of Representatives in 2000, and the University of Illinois
Y.W.C.A.- February 11, 2001.
I also owned and operated the Lincoln Press Bookbindery, where
we put Dissertations and Professional Journals into hard cover.
Shirley Hursey
)
denotes original charter members of the Champaign County Section
of the National Council of Negro Women.