The Rev. William Lawson, Texas civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr, dies at 95

The Rev. William “Bill” Lawson, a longtime pastor and civil rights leader who helped desegregate Houston, Texas, and worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, has died. He was 95. Lawson’s longtime church, Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, announced on its website that Lawson died Tuesday. Lawson founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church in 1962 and served as its pastor for 42 years before retiring in 2004. He worked with King during the civil rights movement by setting up the local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Both men remained close friends until King’s assassination in 1968.