Houston pastor and civil rights leader, 95, dies

HOUSTON — The Rev. William “Bill” Lawson, a longtime pastor and civil rights leader who helped desegregate Houston and worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, has died. He was 95 years old.

Lawson’s longtime church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in that Texas city, announced on its website that he died Tuesday.

“He has completed his time of service here on earth and now enjoys eternal rest,” the Church said in its statement.

Lawson founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in 1962 and served as its pastor for 42 years before retiring in 2004. He was known as the “Pastor of Houston” and remained active in his church and in the community after his retirement.

He worked with King during the civil rights movement, establishing the local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference – the civil rights organization led by King.

During a 2021 interview with his daughter Melanie Lawson, anchor of KTRK in Houston, William Lawson recalled how he offered to welcome King into his church when others would not after the FBI charged King to be a communist.

“I told his team I didn’t have a big church. But he was very welcome at my church and he came to Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church and he preached there,” said Lawson.

The two men remained close friends until King’s assassination in 1968.

Houston community leaders praised Lawson and his legacy Tuesday.

“He’s one of the reasons our city is so great. He helped us through the civil rights and social justice era,” Mayor John Whitmire said. “Houston benefited from his leadership, from his character.”

Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis said that while Houston mourns its loss, “we are celebrating a legacy that will guide us for generations to come.”

Memorial services celebrating Lawson’s life were scheduled to be held May 23 and 24 at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.