King, Willis J.

Willis Jefferson King (1886-1976) was an African-American Methodist bishop, college professor and author.

Born in Rose Hill, Texas, on October 1, 1886, King was educated at Wiley College, Boston University School of Theology, and Harvard University. He earned his PhD in sociology from Boston University, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate, as did the University of Liberia. Wiley College eventually named its administration building for him, and his exemplary scholarship led to his selection as the black students' representative at the World's Student and Christian Federation in Peking, China, and as a Fellow of the Julius Rosenwald Fund for Research at Oxford University. He served as Professor of Old Testament Literature at Gammon Theological Seminary (1918-1930), president of Samuel Houston College (1930-1932), and president of Gammon Theological Seminary (1932-1944).

King's career in the Methodist Church began as a deacon in the Texas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1908). He became an elder in 1913 and held pastorates in Texas (Greenville, St. Paul, Galveston, and Houston) and in Boston, Massachusetts. The next three decades were spent largely in academia, as described above, until the Central Jurisdiction of the Methodist Church elected him bishop in 1944. Bishop King presided over the Liberia Conference (1944-1956) and the New Orleans Area (1956-1960, including two conferences in Texas, two in Mississippi, and one in Louisiana. He retired in 1960 to New Orleans, where he spent his time in writing and speaking.

His awards and recognitions included the Order Star of African Redemption and the Knight Commander Order of Pioneers (Liberia), and in 1975 he was honored as the oldest living United Methodist bishop.

From the guide to the Willis J. King Papers, 1922-1965, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)