Thousands of people gathered at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, for a community service to celebrate the life of the late Rev. William A. Lawson. The service, held on Thursday night, was a tribute to Lawson, who passed away on May 14 at the age of 95. Rev. Lawson was a civil rights icon and the founder of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. He played a significant role in the civil rights movement and worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The church, which started with just 13 parishioners in 1962, has grown to over 12,000 members under Lawson's leadership. Although he retired in 2004, Lawson continued to serve as Pastor Emeritus. The community service was filled with songs and stories that celebrated Lawson's legacy. Another service to honor Rev. Lawson will take place on Friday morning at 11 a.m.
James Lawson, another civil rights icon and architect of civil rights nonviolence, died at the age of 95. He was a principal tactician behind sit-ins, marches, and Freedom Rides during the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Lawson studied the principles of civil disobedience practiced by Mohandas K. Gandhi in India and was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. to put his beliefs into practice in the segregated American South. He played a leading role in desegregating public accommodations in Nashville and was among the first Freedom Riders arrested in Mississippi in 1961. Lawson was also present during the 'Bloody Sunday' clash in Selma, Alabama, in 1965. He persuaded King to lead protests in Memphis in 1968, where King was assassinated. Lawson visited King's convicted assassin, James Earl Ray, in prison and publicly supported the theory that Ray was framed. Lawson continued his activism, opposing the Vietnam War and advocating for labor unions, gay rights, expanded healthcare access, and liberalization of immigration policy. He retired from the ministry in 1999 and continued teaching nonviolence. Lawson died of cardiac arrest en route to a Los Angeles hospital.
The community service in Houston honored both Rev. William Lawson and James Lawson, recognizing their significant contributions to the civil rights movement and their lasting legacies.