Houston mourns Rev. William Lawson, founder and pastor emeritus of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.
Rev. William (Bill) Lawson died May 14, 2024, one month shy of 96 years old.
Those of you outside Houston may not have known him, but all of Houston did, and not only the members of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, where he pastored for almost half a century.
He was a giant in civil rights, social issues, academia, and the church. His indomitable faith, strength of character, and gentleness of spirit propelled him into leadership.
Excerpted from his obituary at Johnson Funeral Home:1
In 1955, he moved to Houston with his beloved late wife, Audrey, and one young daughter, Melanie. He was to serve as Director of the Baptist Student Union at Texas Southern University. Just a few years later, in 1962, he founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, where he served as pastor for 42 years. Upon his retirement in 2004 the congregation conferred upon him the title and honor of Founding Pastor Emeritus for his stellar years of service and leadership. Beyond the walls of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Lawson has helped change the face of Houston, by leading the battle to desegregate the city. He joined the national civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by setting up a local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King remained a close friend of Lawson’s, until his untimely death. |
Rev. Lawson’s friendship with Dr. King began during the civil rights era in Houston. Dr. King was looking for a venue to speak in Houston and no church would accept him, because the FBI had wrongly accused him of being a communist. As Rev. Lawson reminisced:2
“I told his staff I don’t have a big church. But he’s perfectly welcome to come to my church, and he came to Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and he preached there.” |
And a friendship was born.3
Behind the scenes, Lawson and other Black community leaders worked with White businessmen to quietly dismantle desegregation.
Houston did experience street protests, but Lawson didn’t participate. According to Joy Sewing, the daughter of one of his closest friends, he said, “picketing and protesting – that’s not my style.”4 She added,
“He reminded us, gently, that people are inherently good and that it's possible to change their hearts. He showed by his actions that it can happen peacefully…. “I don't think I ever heard him shout in the way some preachers do. His lessons were measured and steady. His voice was low and soothing, especially touching those who needed more compassion and kindness.” |
A decade ago, Lawson was quoted as saying that he believed Dr. King would be disappointed in the status of civil rights at that time:
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“I would be interested to know what Martin would think if he came back right now, in 2013. My suspicion is that he would be a little bit flattered, but he would be disappointed," Lawson said. "Much of what we have done in his memory is to name streets and buildings and a whole lot of things like that after Martin Luther King.... We have made him into a saint. But once again,… we ought to do a whole lot more than simply glorify Martin Luther King."5 |
Rev. Lawson was famously part of the influential trio known as The Three Amigos, along with Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza and Rabbi Samuel Karff.
Their individual commitments to civil rights and social justice led them to band together in recognition that their influence was stronger together than separately.6
In 2013, Anna Babin, then President of the United Way of Greater Houston, opened an address to educators and nonprofit directors as well as officials from the city, state, and federal offices by explaining the purpose of their meeting:
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“A priest, a rabbi, and a minister called on me to share their concerns.” |
The room rippled with laughter. It was well known that when the Three Amigos joined together about a cause, their influence was formidable.
Among their accomplishments:
On his own, Lawson's accomplishments and contributions to the Houston community and beyond are too numerous to list here. See the references below for links to fuller explanations.
From Houston Landing:7
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Rabbi David Lyon, who succeeded Karff as the head of Congregation Beth Israel, recalled the eulogy he delivered for his predecessor in 2020 in front of 1,400 attendants on Zoom, including Lawson. “I said, ‘I hope our city will endure with two amigos, because we can’t imagine anything less,’” Lyon said Tuesday. A week later, Lawson called him on the phone: He had chosen Lyon to fill Karff’s shoes as the third member of the Three Amigos. “David,” Lawson told him then. “At my age, we need you to do the heavy lifting.” Lyon promised to do that. And he continued to renew that promise. “I saw Rev. Lawson about a week ago at his home with his daughters, and we shared a prayer,” Lyon said Tuesday, tearing up at the memory. “I made a promise that I would still continue to do the heavy lifting.” |
Rev. Lawson’s love affair with his wife began with a dare.8 Audrey Hoffman, then a college student in Nashville, Tennessee, was dared by a dorm-mate to write to this newly minted seminarian in rural Kansas. Eighteen months and 600 letters later they were married, having met in person only eight times.
In 2011, these letters were donated to the archives of the African American Library at the Gregory School and the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, both arms of the Houston Public Library.
In 2022, the Ensemble Theater premiered the play, "The Lawsons: A Civil Rights Love Story," about the love letters he and Audrey wrote each other, set against the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
After his retirement from Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Rev Lawson joined us at the Graduate College of Social Work as an adjunct faculty member. The course he chose to teach reflected his continued commitment to social justice issues: “Over-representation of Minority Males in the Criminal Justice System.”
A student who took the class told me at the time how privileged he felt to be taught by Rev. Lawson, adding that it was one of the most eye-opening courses he had ever taken.
This reflects why he is so heralded today. He will forever be remembered as Houston’s pastor.
Carole Marmell contributed to this post
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