HOUSTON — Music filled the sanctuary Wednesday at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.
There was a concert honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Rev. William Lawson founded the church and once welcomed King to Houston.
“I had never met him before,” said Lawson. “But when he wanted to come to Houston, I said “well, if other churches will not welcome you, I will.”
Lawson still has a photo featuring him and King together.
Both pastors were born in the same year, but Dr. King was shot and killed at age 39 while fighting for the rights of sanitation workers in Memphis.
“He was a leader of a movement and, to this day, there are still questions about whether the movement died when he was assassinated,” said Rev. Lawson. “And those of us who still live, and remember what the vision was, are certain that the dream is still alive.”
Lawson never marched with MLK but he did help organize a fundraising concert at the old downtown coliseum, in the midst of the movement.
He says the venue was smoke-bombed, but the event continued.
“If you are stubborn enough and self-confident enough, you can do whatever you want to do,” said Lawson.
Fortunately, Lawson told us, Houston escaped much of the turmoil that plagued other cities.
“But there was racism and there was difficulty that we faced,” said Lawson.
It’s difficulty the decades have helped lessen, but not erase.
Lawson said Dr. King’s legacy is relevant as long as injustice and inequality persists.