Bill Text: TX SR201 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled

Texas Senate Resolution 201

Bill Title: In memory of William A. Lawson of Houston.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-03-04 - Reported enrolled [SR201 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SR201-Enrolled.html


	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 201


	In Memory
	of
	William Lawson

	WHEREAS, Residents of Houston lost a giant of the civil
	rights movement and visionary community leader with the passing
	of the Reverend William A. Lawson on May 14, 2024, at the age of
	95; and

	WHEREAS, In 1962, while serving as director of the Baptist
	Student Union at Texas Southern University, Reverend Lawson
	established Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, which became a center
	for students engaged in nonviolent protests against
	discrimination; he befriended Martin Luther King Jr., inviting
	him to speak at the church; Reverend Lawson chartered the Houston
	chapter of Dr. King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference,
	which he would lead for more than three decades; in the midst of
	upheaval across the nation, he quietly met with local business
	leaders, slipping through the back door of the whites-only Rice
	Hotel; his serenity, compassion, and unfailing good humor were
	crucial in bringing people together and maintaining calm during
	the swift desegregation of public facilities; and

	WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson worked with other prominent faith
	leaders to address challenges confronting the city, among them
	homelessness, racism, and antisemitism; he persuaded other local
	religious institutions to commit to community development, and
	he set an example by including women as deacons and trustees of
	his church; even after retiring, he remained a tireless champion
	of the vulnerable and disenfranchised; the congregation named
	him founding pastor emeritus, and among myriad other accolades,
	the William A. Lawson Institute for Peace and Prosperity was
	established in his honor; he received honorary doctorates from
	Howard Payne University, the University of Houston, and TSU; and

	WHEREAS, The son of William Lawson Sr. and Clarisse Riggs,
	Bill Lawson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 28, 1928; he
	was raised with three siblings in Kansas City, Kansas, by his
	mother and her second husband, Walter Cade; after graduating from
	Tennessee State University, he went on to complete a bachelor's
	and master's degree at Central Baptist Theological Seminary; on
	January 30, 1954, he married the former Audrey Hoffman, and they
	were blessed with four children, Melanie, Cheryl, Eric, and
	Roxanne; he was preceded in death by his beloved wife and son; and

	WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson left an indelible imprint on the
	city of Houston, and although he will be deeply missed, he will
	remain a source of enduring inspiration to all who were
	privileged to know him; now, therefore, be it

	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 89th
	Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the life of the Reverend
	William A. Lawson and extend sincere condolences to all who mourn
	his passing; and, be it further

	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be
	prepared for his family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns
	this day, it do so in memory of William Lawson.

	Miles, Alvarado, Birdwell
	Cook, Eckhardt, West




	____________________________________________________________
	Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate



	____________________________________________________________
	Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate



	____________________________________________________________
	Member, Texas Senate Member, Texas Senate



		______________________________
		President of the Senate

		I hereby certify that the
		above Resolution was adopted by
		the Senate on March 4, 2025, by
		a rising vote.



		______________________________
		Secretary of the Senate