William A. Lawson - journalist Bill Moyers met up with him in Houston, TX

 Listening to America  BY Bill Moyers

(1971, Harper's Magazine Press) pages 252 - 262

Part V included Mathis, Texas / Houston / Beaumont

On the road in East Texas / Little Rock, Arkansas

Johnsonville, SC / Washington D.C.

"Bill Lawson shook his head and smiled when I recounted

the concern of my guardian in the taxi.  "She was right about

the crime.  This is a transitional neighborhood.  That means

city services are being withdrawn.  When street repairs are

irregular, the streets get bad.  When police protection is 

slowly cut back, crime goes up.  This used to be the

Riverdale of Houston - very swank and very Jewish.

Then it cracked.  No one remembers who went first, but

houses that had been selling for $50,000 to $60,000

plummeted in value.  You will see homes with tall trees

and large lots, but you will also notice that the whole

area has the undefinable mark of transition." . . .

Bill Lawson, 41, of SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership

Conference) avoids acclaim and seeks results . . ."

see Texas State Historical Association .org website

He served alongside MLK, Jr.   Born 1929, passed from

this life in 2024.  A capable leader and community

activist-organizer.  May He rest in strength and

may his labors and accomplishments bear fruit

far on into this 21st Century.  Founded the Houston-area

Institute for Peace and Prosperity, news.rice.edu

online article May 14, 2024.