Mrs. Williams is an elderly woman who has spent much of her life involved in Civil Rights struggles. She is described as "elegant" and gives Stevenson fond memories of other women he has known.

Both Mrs. Williams and her daughter are present at Walter's hearing. Mrs. Williams has a particularly hard time being at the hearing because of the police dogs present in the court room. She explains to Stevenson that this is because during her history fighting in the Civil Rights movement, she was attacked by police dogs as well as by police, and this has left her with trauma. This causes her some conflict, because it is also this history that compels her to be present at the hearing in the first place.