She was born in a town so small, no one remembers the name. But you’ll remember hers. Thelma Williams, also known as Grandma Wisdom. She’s 81 and an unforgettable force of nature. She joined the Air Force just a few years after women were allowed. She was one of the first family planning counselors in Texas, and one of the first female licensed plumbers in Central Texas.

Grandma Wisdom has lived in the St. John’s community in east Austin since she was 7. Her home is part museum, part youth center. Her walls are filled with poetry and art. Some hers. Some from neighborhood children or area artists. You’ll find articles, essays, family trees, inspirational sayings, and a collection of books she has written over the years. She calls her outdoor space The Love Yard. A place where children can play and see messages of love and hop on large signs and murals.

Grandma Wisdom believes that her messages of love are especially important to Black families who are still impacted by the toxic legacy of racism and segregation. She shares the history of her beloved St. John’s. How Austin’s racist Master Plan of 1928 denied school and utility access to Black residents unless they moved to a designated “negro district” in east Austin. “It’s important to know our history,” she says. “I tell the children to talk to their elders. To hear their stories and then share their own.” She recalls how instrumental it was to have an intergenerational connection in her life. “My grandad—Big Pappa—was my best friend and we sat on the porch together and just talked and talked.”

As our visit with Grandma Wisdom ends, she serenades us with a poem posted in her Love Yard. It ends with:

A dream that’s never worked on will always be a dream.

Keep dreaming, talking, and working, until your goals are achieved.

Believe! Believe! Believe! Believe!