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

Thousands of people gathered in-person and online to experience the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Beloved Community Commemorative Service at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

The Rev. William Lawson, Texas civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr., dies at 95. Lawson’s longtime church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, announced on its ...