Archie Watkins Out of the Night that covers me, Black as a pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever Cods may be For MY unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance, I have not winced nor cried aloud, Under the Budgeonings of chance, My head is bloody, but unbowed. Those are the words that Brother ARCHIE WATKINS loved and lived prior to his death. Brother Watkins was born on April 15, 1955, in Chicago, II. He attended Illinois State University where he majored in Communications. He graduated with this degree in 1979, and started working for GTE in Bloomington, IL. He later got married, and had two children. He was a good husband, a good father and a good and loyal worker. He was initiated into the NU Psi Lambda Chapter in Bloomington in 1982. After a period of time, his health weakened, but he held his head high. He became a member of the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church in 1986, and was active with the youth and the adult choirs as a pianist, his favorite pastime. His health diminished to a great degree, and it was imperative that he have a new heart. He started taking the necessary antibiotics and fighting agents to prepare him for his new challenge. The heart he needed didn't arrive, and he passed on. At an earlier request, he wanted a donation given to the American Heart Association. To honor his request, Nu Psi Lambda Chapter has started a memorial fund in his name to be given to this worthy organization. Thomas A. Webster
B r o t h e r T H O M A S A. WEBSTER'S death has left several pieces missing in the puzzle that is Kansas City. This is true particularly in matters of civil rights and housing. Although Webster long ago ceased to direct the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, he n o n e t h e l e s s w a s an outspoken conscience on matters pertaining to racial equity and injustice. Webster's voice was not a blaring horn, but intelligent thoughts put into audible words. Occasionally they were in the form of brief notes to people he thought needed to be told a thing or two. He also was quick with praise for people he thought were deserving of it. Brother Webster had a rare gift of sensible rationalism. This is what made him so persuasive and why the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People saw fit to present Webster, who led the Urban League from 1935 to 1958, with the muchdeserved Harold L. Holliday Sr. civil rights award. Brother Webster was also a member of the Jackson County Advisory Commission on Human Relations. In the area of housing, he was a commissioner of the Kansas City Housing Authority and in 1977 was on the Governor's Advisory Council for Housing and Neighborhood Investment Study. A distinguished scholar, Webster received a bachelor's degree from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, a master's degree in social work and a doctorate from the University in Jefferson City before going to Avila College in 1962 as an associate sociology professor. He eventually chaired the department at Avila and was named pro-
The Sphinx/Winter 1989
fessor emeritus upon retirement in 1975. Webster was born in Delaware, but spent 56 of his 81 years in Kansas City.
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Charles Henry Williams, Jr.
By anyone's standards, Brother CHARLES HENRY WILLIAMS, JR., 55, who died Saturday, Feb. 25 in Grant Medical Center after complications following openh e a r t s u r g e r y , lived a success-filled life. At the time of his death, Williams was a business development specialist for the City of Columbus. He had served as an assistant d i r e c t o r for the O h i o Department of Transportation and assistant Dean of Students at Ohio State University, where he was affectionately known as "Daddy Dean." Williams was a member of the Franklin C o u n t y Republican Party. At Second Baptist, he used his tenor voice in the Chalice Choir and served as a youth counselor. he served with several community oganizations, including Neighborhood House and Center Stage Theater, where he was a prop designer. He joined the U.S. Army July 26, 1956, and left six years later with the rank of lieutenant. Williams is survived by wife, Rose E. (Howell); children, Crystal Eileen Williams, Columbus; Cheryl Rose Bryant (Gregory), O r l a n d o , Fla.; Charles H. Williams III, HInesville, Ga.; parents, Charles H. Williams Sr. (Thelma), Cleveland; brothers, Nathaniel Williams, San Diego, Calif.; Richard (Mary) Williams, Fresno, Calif.; sister, Laverne (Thomas) Carver-Beng, Bedford Heights, O h i o ; and devoted and beloved friend, Delores Lawson, Columbus.
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Wesley Samuel Williams, Sr. Brother WESLEY S. WILLIAMS, SR., 82, died on August 17, 1988 at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC of complications following a stroke. Brother Williams was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1906. He attended Stores Junior College in Harper's Ferry, WV and transferred to V i r g i n i a U n i o n in R i c h m o n d , VA w h e r e he received the Bachelor's of Science Degree in 1929. He entered Howard University's School of Medicine in the fall of 1929, where he was a ranking scholar. AKthe end of his first year he had to withdraw following the sudden death of his father. Brother Williams returned to Philadelphia and began a career as s social worker for the City. He rose to the position of Assistant superintendent for the Crime Prevention Unit of Philadelphia's Department of Public Safety. During this time, Brother Williams took courses at the Philadelphia School of Social Work and the College of Law from which he received a Master of Laws Degree in 1939. In 1941, Brother Williams passed the Bar Examination for the District of Columbia and moved to Washington, DC. In Washington, he served for many years as Vice President of the DC Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, as a member of the Judicial Selection Committees of the DC, Federal (DC Chapter), National and Washington Bar Associations. Brother Williams was in 1948 associated with All Souls
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