Rev. William “Bill” Lawson was a Houston civil rights leader who helped peacefully integrate his city and worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968)
- Died: May 14, 2024 (Who else died on May 14?)
- Details of death: Died at the age of 95.
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Rev. William “Bill” Lawson’s legacy
Born in St. Louis, Lawson made his home in Houston as a young man when he accepted a professorship at Texas Southern University. Within a few years of his 1955 arrival in the city, he became one of its civil rights leaders. He listened to his students at the historically Black Texas Southern, who were inspired by lunch counter sit-ins elsewhere in the country: They wanted to mount their own in an effort to desegregate Houston. Drawn into the movement by their passion, Lawson became an important voice for peaceful integration there.
Lawson joined meetings of Houston business leaders as they discussed the sit-ins and considered whether and how to desegregate the city. Lawson advised the officials as they came to a consensus to quietly remove “whites only” signs and other symbols of segregation, effectively ushering in integration with little fanfare. The stealth tactic worked, and Houston’s 1960 integration was notably peaceful.
In 1962, Lawson founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, a prominent faith community in Houston that he went on to lead for more than 40 years. The following year, King came to Houston and preached at Wheeler Avenue Baptist. It marked the beginning of a friendship between the two activists, as well as a working relationship in which Lawson established a Houston office of King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Earning the nickname “Houston’s Pastor,” Lawson remained an important figure in the city throughout his life. Among his many efforts of service, he helped establish the first African-American studies program at the University of Houston, worked to get out the vote, and sponsored the city’s largest troop of Boy Scouts.
Lawson on integrating Houston
“We certainly had different points of view. But we just put them on the table.” — from a 2021 interview for ABC 13
Tributes to Rev. William “Bill” Lawson
Full obituary: Texas Monthly
