Grace Towns Hamilton (1907-1992) was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father, George Alexander Towns Sr. (1870-1961), was an educator who graduated from Harvard University and Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) where he taught at the latter as a professor of English, Pedagogy, and Debate for 30 years. He was also involved with the local Atlanta branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In 1902, George married Harriet Eleanor “Nellie” McNair Towns (1879-1967). George and Nellie had five children: Helen Dorothy Towns (1904-1905), Grace (1907-1992), George Alexander Towns Jr. (1909-1976), Myron Burnstead Towns (1910-1967), and Harriet Mary Towns Jenkins (1920-1997), and an unnamed infant son (? - ?). Harriet Eleanor “Nellie” McNair Towns was the first Black woman to serve on the board of the Atlanta branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and she also helped establish the Gate City Free Kindergarten Association.

Grace Towns Hamilton graduated from Atlanta University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1927 and received her master’s degree in psychology from Ohio State University in 1929. After graduation, Hamilton worked with the YWCA as a secretary and later taught at the Atlanta School of Social Work and Clark College. In 1930, she married Henry Cooke “Cookie” Hamilton (1899-1987), a son of builder Alexander D. Hamilton. He was an educator who later became the Registrar of Morehouse College and was an instructor at both Morehouse and the Atlanta University. Grace and Henry had one child: Eleanor Towns Hamilton Payne (1931-2011). Eleanor married Charles Benjamin Payne Jr. (1930-2007) and they had four children: Deborah Hamilton Payne Stenson (1954-2012), Charles Benjamin Payne III (1957- ), Lisa Carolyn Payne Jones (1958- ), and David Cooke Payne (1962 - ).

After their marriage, Grace and Henry moved to Memphis,Tennessee, where Grace was an instructor of Psychology and Henry was the dean and professor of Education at LeMoyne College. From 1935 to 1936, Grace headed a survey on white collar and skilled Black workers in Memphis under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration. She also continued her work with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) where she was the secretary for the YWCA International Education Committee between 1936 and 1943 and helped develop interracial education programs at several colleges and universities. She was a part of the YWCA’s National Commission on Ethnic Minorities and worked as a consultant for the commission between 1960-1961. Grace and Henry later returned to Atlanta, where Grace began working for the Atlanta Urban League (AUL) and was appointed as the organization’s executive director in 1943. During her 18-year tenure as executive director, she initiated and/or was involved in four major research campaigns focusing on the areas of education, voter registration and citizenship, health, and housing. Hamilton advocated for the construction of Hughes Spalding Pavillion, a private hospital for Black patients and physicians in Atlanta that opened in 1952 and was supported by Emory University and Grady Hospital. After leaving the AUL, she started and operated her own consulting firm called Hamilton and Associates from 1961 to 1967.

Grace’s political career began in 1965 when she won in a special election for a seat in the newly reapportioned Georgia House House of Representatives. She became the first Black woman to be elected to the Georgia General Assembly and represented the District 137th (later renumbered as the 112th in 1969 and 31st for the rest of her term). She is credited for being the “principal architect” of Atlanta’s 1973 city charter, which resulted in a shift in the city’s form of government to a strong-mayor system, and redrew voting districts which allowed for more African American representation on the Atlanta City Council. Her political career ended when she lost her re-election bid against Mabel Thomas (1957- ) in 1984. After her defeat, Grace became an advisor to the United States Civil Rights Commission from 1985 to 1987. Grace and her family are buried at South-View Cemetery in Atlanta.