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Editor’s note: After the death of J. Samuel Williams Jr., we tried to come up with a proper way to offer eulogy and tribute to a man who meant so much to the Farmville community. Moton Museum Director Cainan Townsend agreed to share his feelings on the man he and many others affectionately called ‘Rev’. 

Reverend J. Samuel Williams Jr., known affectionately to many as simply “Rev.,” passed away on February 3, 2025. To his family, members of Levi Baptist Church, the Moton Museum, and the broader community, please accept our condolences. We have lost a giant among men.

He was a Moton student striker in 1951 and Moton class president in 1952. He attended Shaw University, helping to create the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) alongside his friend Ella (To which members of our staff and I had to ask, “Rev., are you talking about Ella Baker?” He was.). He preached his trial sermon in January 1959 from the pulpit of First Baptist Church in Farmville and remained in the ministry for 67 years. We know about the man, but we must remember what he taught us.

Rev. would always say that “back in the day,” pastors were expected to do three things: marry folks, bury the dead, and preach on Sundays. Any preacher who did things outside of those was considered a “nontraditional pastor.” Like his mentor, Rev. L. Francis Griffin, he was most certainly a nontraditional pastor.

Williams did not believe in only sharing the message inside the church—he believed the world was his church. A large part of his reason was rooted in the fact that, like Rev. Griffin and Rev. Vernon Johns, Rev. Williams did not just believe in individual sin; he believed in institutional sin. That meant challenging the systems that promote injustice and inequity was just as important as confronting individuals. Many of the people who needed to hear his message would never step foot inside his church, so the world became his church. He used his most powerful tool—his distinct voice—to deliver the message.

Samuel Williams Jr. mixes vision with courage

Rev. would often speak about the importance of mixing vision with courage, like Barbara Johns did in 1951. He regularly encouraged young people to stand up and fight for their rights, educating them on the process and the importance of having a message. Even in the present day, he expressed the importance of movements but did not shy away from the fact that movements are seldom popular in the time in which they exist. He often operated under the premise that God helps those who help themselves and that we all have gifts we can use to help people. When you get the call, you must answer. Rev. Williams answered his call, and he wanted to make sure we answer ours as well—what he called the “Intervening of Divine Mysticism.” Especially when things are difficult, you can and must stand up.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about Rev. Williams was his ability to find common ground and move people toward unity. He had a remarkable ability to build intergenerational coalitions, drawing from his years of activism. He understood the importance of collective action, dating back to his time at Moton. His sermon that best demonstrates this was at the 68th anniversary of the Mass Meeting at First Baptist Church, entitled The Backward Glancing and the Forward Marching. As the scholar he was, he quoted scripture, philosophy, and poetry throughout his sermon. But his lasting message to me truly lies in Matthew 25:45: “What you have done to the least of these, you have also done unto me.”
“If you wonder what you’d do during the civil rights movement, you’re doing it right now.” That is why Rev. never stopped pursuing a more perfect union, even at 91 years old. We mourn his loss and will miss him dearly. We must pick up where he left off.

‘You’re late’

I wonder what the first thing Rev. Vernon Johns and Rev. L. Francis Griffin said to Rev. Williams when he got into heaven. Johns probably said something like, “You’re late, Sammy. We’ve been waiting on you.” Griffin probably added, “Good work dabbing a little bit of that medicine on them folks before you came up here and sat down.”

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” – Matthew 25:21

Reverend Dr. J. Samuel Williams Jr. : November 16, 1933 – February 3, 2025