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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Houston lost a giant of the civil |
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rights movement and visionary community leader with the passing of |
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the Reverend William A. Lawson on May 14, 2024, at the age of 95; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1962, while serving as director of the Baptist |
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Student Union at Texas Southern University, Reverend Lawson |
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established Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, which became a center |
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for students engaged in nonviolent protests against |
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discrimination; he befriended Martin Luther King Jr., inviting him |
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to speak at the church; Reverend Lawson chartered the Houston |
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chapter of Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference, |
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which he would lead for more than three decades; in the midst of |
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upheaval across the nation, he quietly met with local business |
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leaders, slipping through the back door of the whites-only Rice |
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Hotel; his serenity, compassion, and unfailing good humor were |
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crucial in bringing people together and maintaining calm during the |
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swift desegregation of public facilities; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson worked with other prominent faith |
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leaders to address challenges confronting the city, among them |
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homelessness, racism, and antisemitism; he persuaded other local |
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religious institutions to commit to community development, and he |
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set an example by including women as deacons and trustees of his |
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church; even after retiring, he remained a tireless champion of the |
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vulnerable and disenfranchised; the congregation named him |
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founding pastor emeritus, and among myriad other accolades, the |
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William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity was |
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established in his honor; he received honorary doctorates from |
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Howard Payne University, the University of Houston, and TSU; and |
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WHEREAS, The son of William Lawson Sr. and Clarisse Riggs, |
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Bill Lawson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 28, 1928; he |
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was raised with three siblings in Kansas City, Kansas, by his mother |
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and her second husband, Walter Cade; after graduating from |
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Tennessee State University, he went on to complete a bachelor's and |
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master's degree at Central Baptist Theological Seminary; on January |
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30, 1954, he married the former Audrey Hoffman, and they were |
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blessed with four children, Melanie, Cheryl, Eric, and Roxanne; he |
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was preceded in death by his beloved wife and son; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson left an indelible imprint on the |
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city of Houston, and although he will be deeply missed, he will |
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remain a source of enduring inspiration to all who were privileged |
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to know him; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature |
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hereby pay tribute to the life of the Reverend William A. Lawson and |
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extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this |
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day, it do so in memory of William Lawson. |