Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church
San Francisco, CA USA
"Love means living dangerously, and to live dangerously means to risk all that you have. If you're going to do it, you have to go all the way."
Career Roadmap
Cecil's work combines: Non-Profit Organizations, Philosophy & Religion, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Sociology, General
Huston-Tillotson University
Graduate Degree
Theology/Theological Studies
Southern Methodist University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
"It was an ordeal" going to Southern Methodist University when he did-was one of the first African-Americans accepted.
2.
The school clearly didn't know how to treat their black students; sent him to New Mexico to start a segregated church.
3.
He said "no way," left SMU for Berkeley, finished theology studies there.
4.
Was assigned to a church in Kansas City, congregation was largely poor.
5.
Saw that poverty was a commonality that united white and black churchgoers.
6.
Realized that to help people "where it hurt the most," he had to empower those who were impoverished.
7.
Joined Glide Memorial, turned it into a place of refuge for many of San Francisco's poor and homeless.
8.
Says he created his "own theology," follows example of founder of the Methodist church, who worked extensively with the poor.
Defining Moments
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was one of the first African Americans at SMU