Willis Jefferson King (October 1, 1886 – 1976) was an African-American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, college professor and author.

Education and career

King attended

Wiley College Wiley College is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the oldest predominantly black col ...

Boston University School of Theology Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH) is the oldest theological seminary of American Methodism and the founding school of Boston University, the largest private research university in New England. It is one of thirteen theological school ...

, and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and received his Ph.D. in sociology from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. He was selected as the black students' representative at the World's Student and Christian Federation in

Peking, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

, and as a Fellow of the Julius Rosenwald Fund for Research at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He served as Professor of

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

Literature at

Gammon Theological Seminary The Interdenominational Theological Center (ITC) is a consortium of five predominantly African-American denominational Christian seminaries in Atlanta, Georgia, operating together as a professional graduate school of theology. It is the largest f ...

(1918–1930), president of

Samuel Huston College Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bi ...

(1930–1932), and president of

(1932–1944). King served as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in the Texas Conference of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

in 1908. He became an elder in 1913 and held

pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s in Texas (Greenville, St. Paul, Galveston, and Houston) and in Boston, Massachusetts. 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. King retired in 1960 to New Orleans, where he spent his time in writing and speaking. He died in 1976.

Honors and awards

King received honorary degrees from Boston University and the University of Liberia. The administration building at Wiley College is named after him. Other awards and recognitions include the Order Star of African Redemption and the Knight Commander Order of Pioneers (Liberia). In 1975 he was honored as the oldest living United Methodist bishop.

Partial bibliography

Author

* ''The Negro in American Life'' (1926) * ''Christian Bases of World Order'' (1943) * ''History of the Methodist Church Mission in Liberia'' (1951)

Contributor

* ''Personalism in Theology'' (1943) * ''History of American Methodism'' (1964)

Sources

"King, Willis Jefferson"
in the Handbook of Texas Online * Nail, Olin W. (ed.), ''History of Texas Methodism, 1900–1960'' (Austin, 1961)

Syracuse University {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Willis J. 1886 births American Methodist bishops Methodists from Texas African-American Methodists 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American academics Boston University School of Theology alumni Harvard University alumni 1976 deaths American sociologists Wiley University alumni Presidents of Huston–Tillotson University African-American sociologists