Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead and the unborn could do it no better.” In other words, be irreplaceable. That, in so many ways and through multiple decades, defines the work and life of Rev. Samuel Williams Jr. Rev. Williams passed away on Monday, Feb. 3. 

When you look back over the Civil Rights movement, over everything from Brown v. Board of Education to the events 10, 15 years later in Farmville, the story is incomplete without mentioning Rev. Williams. Look back over Farmville’s history decades after that and you’ll once again find Rev. Williams, still preaching, still teaching, still serving his community in a number of roles. 

The words and actions of Rev. Williams has inspired generations of men and women in Farmville, from those who listened to his sermons to those who asked questions about the town’s history and others who walked with and were arrested with him in the fight for civil rights. 

“Rev. J.S. Williams, Jr. was a true icon and legend. a  walking history book and a Man of encouraging words and knowledge,” said Farmville Vice Mayor Armstead “Chuckie” Reid, himself a member of the “Lost Generation” affected by Prince Edward’s 1959 decision to close schools. “He was a Civil Rights activist who stood tall and would never back down. He will be truly missed by all who knew him or even had a conversation.”

‘You never know how it’s going to end up’ 

Again, we go back to Dr. King’s words and see Rev. Williams reflected in them, an irreplaceable member of the Farmville community. Look back on July 28, 1963. Rev. J. Samuel Williams Jr. had, along with Rev. Goodwin Douglas, organized the latest in a series of student civil rights demonstrations in town, bringing almost 500 people together. The goal on that July morning was to integrate downtown churches. 

Rev. Williams was standing with a group on the steps of Farmville Baptist Church, praying and singing hymns. One portion of the group made it inside of Johns Memorial Episcopal Church, where they sat with then-Longwood University Dean Dr. C.G. Gordon Moss. Another portion of the group tried to worship at Farmville United Methodist Church and was rejected. After trying and being rejected again at Farmville Baptist Church, the group started to pray and sing hymns on the church steps. They were arrested and charged with “disturbing the public worship of God”, the first time that had happened after a “kneel-in” in the South. 

“I felt hurt we were being arrested, to prevent us from worshiping God,” Williams said in a 2017 discussion with East Rockingham High School students. “Singing, praying, listening to the message, just like the people inside were doing. I saw that as a great contradiction there. We didn’t know what to expect but it was something we had to do. You never know how it’s going to end up, but you have to be brave enough to do it.” 

And time and again, you see Rev. Williams’ own actions echoing those words. More than a decade before the protest at Farmville Baptist, Williams took part in the April 23, 1951 student strike at Robert Russa Moton High, alongside Barbara Rose Johns and other classmates.

Moton High was the first free-standing segregated high school for African-American students in Prince Edward County. Originally built in 1939, its max capacity was to hold exactly 180 students, but had over 477. As such, there was overcrowding in the classrooms, along with subpar conditions and hand-me-down education materials. 

In a 2016 interview with The Herald, Williams described his time at Moton High School as being challenging and dark.

“We were trying to find our way out of academic darkness,” Williams said, adding the students wanted to “(find) a way out of stereotypes.”

Rev. Samuel Williams Jr. : A community father 

It’s hard to single out just one way Rev. Williams protected, guided and supported his community. Through his life, he was the pastor of three churches, including Levi Baptist, First Baptist and Beulah Baptist. He was also known as a community historian. 

In many ways, the statement from the Moton Museum staff sum up how important he was and how beloved. 

“To many, he was a preacher, a teacher, a fighter for justice,” the staff wrote. “To us at Moton, he was our dear “Rev.”—a beacon of wisdom, strength, and love. His voice carried through these walls, his presence filled every room, and his unwavering faith kept us all steady. Today, we mourn not just a leader but a beloved friend and a man of God. Rev. Williams dedicated his life to service, standing on the foundation of faith and education. His wisdom and commitment to the truth helped shape our story, ensuring that history was not forgotten but taught with power and conviction. His legacy will live on in the lives he touched, the sermons he preached, and the history he fought to preserve.” 

‘He delights in every detail’ 

In 2023, the town dedicated a street to Rev. Samuel Williams Jr., renaming Watkins Street to Williams Way. The road is right off High Street and was the place he called home. And during that ceremony, a Biblical passage kept popping up, Psalm 37:23-24. Those verses state that “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.”

With every detail, every step in his life, Rev. Williams protected others, fought for his community and supported his community. Dr. King’s words about a life ‘lived well’ reflect another Biblical verse that seems appropriate here, this time taken from Matthew 25:21. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant..”