TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Rev. Dr. William Raymond Worsley, Jr. 1925–2019 Charlotte (NC) Minister and Civil Rights Leader, Professor, U.S. Marine Corps, WWII Veteran
R ocky Mount, NC native, and civil rights leader, Rev. Dr. William Raymond Worsley, Jr. (Alpha Epsilon 1953) entered the Chapter Invisible on July 24, 2019 at 93 years after a courageous battle against Alzheimer’s Disease. After the announcement of Dr. Worsely’s passing, the Charlotte Observer newspaper recalled Worsely as “a hidden figure of Charlotte’s civil rights movement.” World War II veteran, Mont- ford Point Marine, Presbyte- rian minister, college professor Whether it was marching on the square in uptown Charlotte, sit-ins at Wool- worth's, helping bring forth Swann v. Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education , a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, or his role as a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Dr. Worsley dedicated his life to fairness and equality. William Raymond Worsley, Jr., born on August 11, 1925 to parents Eula Mae (née Sanders) Worsley, and Wil- liam Raymond Worsley, Sr., in Rocky Mount, NC. He attended schools in Rocky Mount, NC and graduated from Rocky Mount’s Booker T. Washington High School. He attended Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) located in Charlotte, NC. While at JCSU, he was a star player on the Golden Bulls football team, one half of the “Thunder and Lightning” duo, as well as graduat- ing as his class’s valedictorian (summa cum laude). Prior to the completion of his under- graduate degree, he served as one of the nation’s first Black Marines in the Montford Point regiment and toured the Pacific Theatre during World War II as a ship’s gunner. He was part of the first group of African Americans to see
combat in the south Pacific. He subsequently earned a master of arts degree from Columbia University and a master of divinity degree from the Johnson C. Smith Theological Semi- nary. He became one of the first African American ministers to earn a doctorate in Sacred Theology from Emory Univer- sity in Atlanta, GA. His involvement with fighting discrimi- nation and pushing civil rights for all citizens began at an early age includ- ing riding in the “colored section” of the city bus as a child. Dr. Worsely recalled in a 2004 interview about his participation in civil disobedience, “We had to picket Woolworth's downtown (Charlotte). And, when I was a stu- dent in New York at Union Seminary we picketed at Woolworth's up there, which was 125 th Street, right there. Not far from Columbia University. Yeah, I used to go down there, just like I say, and picket that place. Now we could sit, we could eat there, but we picketed that place just to show our support for people in the South….” Dr. Worsley was a charter member of Statesville Avenue Presbyterian Church and served as pastor of several churches in Charlotte, including Grier Heights and McClintock Presbyterian Churches. He honorably retired as the pastor of First United Presbyterian Church in Uptown Charlotte, NC in 1991. Dr. Worsley was a professor of Theology and Religious Studies, as well as a Spanish professor, at his alma mater. He had a passion for the Span- ish culture and even chose to take his family to Mexico and South America when he received an all-expenses paid vacation for winning JCSU’s Teacher of the Year.
He also worked for Charlotte Park and Recreation and taught at the Interdenomi- national Theological Center (ITC) J.C. Smith Seminary for many years when the college moved to Atlanta. He served as an administrator in the Catawba Presby- tery during the transition to P.C.U.S A. He wrote the Articles of Agreement that played a critical role in the unification and merger of the Catawba Presbytery and Presbytery USA, eliminating segregated practices within the Presbyterian denomi- nation. Dr. Worsley became well known for his work as a local civil rights leader. He was a signatory on the landmark Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education lawsuit, and one of the circles of friends and leaders instrumental in helping to win the case and desegregate Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He organized numerous marches, lead activities for social and economic justice, and was arrested in Washington, D. C. for marching to end apartheid in South Af- rica. Dr. Worsley also worked with Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Geor- gia. An avid writer, the Charlotte Observer newspaper often published Dr. Worsley’s open letters to the editor, and their report- ers published numerous articles about Dr. Worsley and his work as a civil rights leader. In 2011, the Charlotte Observer published a headline article entitled, “Overdue Salute to a Black Marine”. The beautiful
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