Samuel Woodrow Williams facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Samuel Woodrow Williams
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | February 12, 1912 |
| Died | October 10, 1970 (aged 58) |
| Education | Morehouse College, Howard University |
| Occupation |
|
| Movement | Civil Rights Movement |
| Awards | NAACP Meritorious award, Phi beta sigma citizenship award |
Samuel Woodrow Williams was an important Baptist minister, a professor of philosophy and religion, and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He was born on February 12, 1912, in Sparkman, Arkansas. He grew up in Chicot County, Arkansas.
As an African American, Williams attended Morehouse College where he earned his first degree in philosophy. Later, he went to Howard University and earned a master's degree in divinity.
Williams played a big part in the Atlanta Student Movement. He also helped start the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Atlanta Summit Leadership Council. These groups helped create the Atlanta branch of the Community Relations Commission (CRC). At the same time, he was a co-chairman of the Atlanta Summit Leadership Conference and the acting president of the Atlanta branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
In 1947, Williams became the pastor at Friendship Baptist Church. He also gave speeches at over 20 colleges and universities across the South. He taught that people should live their lives based on strong principles and good morals. In his later years, Williams focused his sermons on peaceful ways to make change. He believed society was stuck in old ways and burdened by conflict. He shared this message in a sermon he gave for Martin Luther King Jr. in 1969, called "He was no Criminal."
Williams passed away in October 1970 after a surgery. A special collection of books and documents about Black history at Atlanta libraries was renamed the Samuel W. Williams Collection on Black America. It is now kept at the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, which is part of the Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System in Atlanta's Sweet Auburn Historic District.
Contents
Early Life in Arkansas
Samuel Woodrow Williams was born in Sparkman, Arkansas on February 12, 1912. He was the oldest of eight children. His parents were Arthur William and Annie Willie Butler Williams. As a child, he loved hunting, fishing, and playing basketball and baseball. He also enjoyed reading and writing.
His College Years
From 1932 to 1933, Williams attended Philander Smith College in Little Rock. He then moved to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Morehouse in 1937.
Williams continued his studies at Howard University from 1938 to 1942. There, he earned his Master of Divinity degree. He learned from important thinkers like Dr. Alain LeRoy Locke and Dr. Benjamin Mays. He later received an honorary doctorate from Arkansas Baptist Church in 1960.
Teaching at Morehouse College
After finishing his own education, Williams joined the staff at Morehouse College in 1946. He became the head of the Department of Philosophy and Religion. As the department head, he worked to improve the department and the college. He wanted religion to be a very important part of Morehouse's programs.
Williams was known for being a very smart and challenging teacher. He expected a lot from his students. While teaching at Morehouse, Williams guided many students. These included Dr. Samuel DuBois Cook, who later became president of Dillard University, and Maynard Jackson, who became the first Black mayor of Atlanta. Williams is also known for being a mentor and former teacher to Martin Luther King Jr., a famous leader in the Civil Rights Movement.
Working with the NAACP
In the 1950s, Williams started working with the Atlanta branch of the NAACP. He joined their leadership team and later became president in 1957.
As president, Williams took on his first legal challenge in January 1958. The NAACP sued Atlanta's school board to make them follow the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. This ruling said that separate schools for Black and white students were illegal. After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Reverend John Porter and Williams also sued the segregated Atlanta trolley system. They won this case in 1959. Williams and the NAACP pushed for better education, and for hotels and restaurants to serve everyone, no matter their race.
Leading the Atlanta Student Movement
Williams played a very important role in the Atlanta Student Movement. This movement was a group of students who wanted to make big changes. Williams was one of the adults who encouraged students to write "An Appeal for Human Rights." This was a powerful statement of their goals. It was published in Atlanta newspapers and The New York Times in March 1960.
As the NAACP president, Williams promised to fully support these peaceful protests. The students used nonviolent methods and civil disobedience. This led to important talks between activists and government leaders. Their protests included boycotts and sit-ins, which were key parts of the Civil Rights Movement.
In the same year, Williams also became a founding member and a vice president of the Southern Christian Council (SCLC). The SCLC is an African American Civil Rights organization that started in 1957. Its main goal is to promote peace and non-violence. Even though leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Williams faced threats from some white groups and police, they believed churches should continue to be involved in social and political action.
Other Ways He Helped
Williams also helped create the Atlanta Summit Leadership Council (ASLC). In the 1960s and 1970s, the ASLC pushed the school board and the city to end segregation. They used boycotts, sit-ins, marches, and other peaceful protests. Through the ASLC, Williams worked to show how unfair the city of Atlanta was. He also fought to expand public transportation into Black neighborhoods.
In 1966, Mayor Ivan Allen Jr. started the Community Relations Commission (CRC). Mayor Allen made Williams the Vice Chair of the Atlanta branch. This group allowed people in local communities to share their concerns with city leaders. The CRC worked to end unfair hiring and promotion practices at City Hall. Under Williams, the CRC did a study that proved there was a lack of minority hiring and promotions in Atlanta. This study was very important for the CRC's efforts to get more minorities promoted.
Friendship Baptist Church
Friendship Baptist Church is one of the most well-known Black Baptist churches in Atlanta. It was founded in 1865. In 1947, Williams became the assistant pastor there. He later became the Senior Pastor. Williams was one of the most active pastors in the church's history.
His Sermons
On February 19, 1969, Williams gave a sermon called "A Challenge to Young Black College Students." He said that good teachers, no matter their race, were needed to educate Black students. In his sermons, he often talked about how society sometimes avoids facing its problems. He wanted his audience to avoid actions that would hurt the nation's moral values.
Williams believed in peaceful protest. However, he also gave sermons saying that society's system sometimes allowed unfair treatment. He warned that the system had created unfair barriers that denied people their God-given rights.
After becoming pastor in 1954, Williams made many improvements to the church. For example, he helped build an affordable apartment complex in 1969 and a parking lot. Williams continued to give sermons all over the country. On June 30, 1968, he gave a very important sermon to a white audience at All Saints Episcopal Church. He asked them to think about their responsibility for justice. He believed that schools should be places where Christians demand justice.
His Impact and Legacy
Samuel Woodrow Williams's legacy is his important work in the Civil Rights Movement and his sermons at Friendship Baptist Church. He helped bring about racial progress in Atlanta. Some young people in his community criticized him, saying he was too controlling. Others accused him of not holding elections or of supporting a public housing issue. Williams was also criticized for supporting white officials in firing Eliza Paschall, a director who was seen as too "pro-Black."
Awards He Received
- Alpha Kappa Delta national honorary sociological fraternity (initiation certificate) - 1948
- Atlanta Morehouse club distinguished service award - 1959
- Phi Beta Sigma citizenship award (Chi Chapter) - 1959
- YMCA century club award - 1959
- Atlanta branch NAACP plaque for presidency - 1964
- NAACP Meritorious award - 1969
- Community relations commission posthumous - 1970
- YMCA men's club international (Omega Chapter) - 1970
His Passing
Williams passed away in October 1970 after a surgery. He was buried at Atlanta's South-View Cemetery.
