William Talbot Handy, Jr. (1924 – 1998) was an American civil rights activist and Methodist bishop. He served as the residing bishop of the Missouri Annual Conference of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

from 1980 to 1992. A friend of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Handy was active in the Civil Rights movement and helped lead the Louisiana State Advisory Committee of the

United States Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility f ...

and the Baton Rouge chapter of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. He was the first African-American to serve in an executive capacity at the

United Methodist Publishing House Abingdon Press is the book publishing arm of the United Methodist Publishing House which publishes sheet music, Minister (Christianity), ministerial resources, Bible-study aids, and other items, often with a focus on Methodism and Methodists. H ...

Early life and family

Handy was born in 1924 in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

to Dorothy Pauline Pleasant, a music teacher, and Rev. William Talbot Handy, a choir member of the Tuskeegee University Quartet and a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister and district superintendent who sang at the funeral of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. His parents owned Handy Heights, a 116-acre farm in

Hazlehurst, Mississippi Hazlehurst is a city in and the county seat of Copiah County, Mississippi, United States, located about south of the state capital Jackson along Interstate 55. The population was 4,009 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolit ...

. Handy was the brother of the flutist D. Antoinette Handy and the pianist Geneva Handy Southall. Handy was a great-great-grandson of Mississippi Supreme Court justice and slaveowner Ephraim G. Peyton, an American Civil War veteran, and Mississippi state legislator Emanuel Handy.

Education

Handy graduated from

Dillard University Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of C ...

in 1948 with a bachelor of arts degree. He earned a

bachelor of divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

degree from

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 ...

and a

Master of Theological Studies The Master of Arts (MA) in a religious discipline is a graduate degree, offered in seminary or other graduate school, which gives students a basic understanding in theological disciplines. It is often pursued by individuals interested in academi ...

degree from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

's School of Theology, where he befriended Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Activism and ministry

Handy, like his friend King, was active in the Civil Rights Movement. He helped lead the Louisiana State Advisory Committee of the

, the Baton Rouge Council on Human Relations, the Baton Rouge chapter of the

, and the Louisiana Council of Churches. Handy was ordained 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1950 and as an elder in 1951 by the Louisiana Conference of the Methodist Church. From 1952 to 1959, he served as pastor of Newman Methodist Church in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

. Following that appointment, he served as the pastor of St. Mark Methodist Church in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. Hand In 1968, Handy was the first African-American hired to serve in an executive capacity at the

, a denominational agency in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

that had previously been accused of racial bigotry. In 1978, he returned to Louisiana to serve as the district superintendent. On July 15, 1980, he was elected bishop at the South Central Jurisdictional Conference in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

and assigned to lead the Missouri Area of the United Methodist Church. Handy served as president of the board of trustees for the

Interdenominational Theological Center 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 ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and as secretary of the board of trustees of

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. He retired from public ministry in 1992.

Personal life

Handy married Ruth Robinson, whom he met at Dillard University, on August 11, 1948. They had three children: Dorothy, Stephen, and Mercedes. His wife was a schoolteacher and taught at W.H. Crogman Elementary School in Atlanta with

Christine King Farris Willie Christine King Farris (September 11, 1927 – June 29, 2023) was an American teacher and civil rights activist. King was the sister of Martin Luther King Jr. and Alfred Daniel Williams. She taught at Spelman College and was the author of ...

. Handy died in Nashville, Tennessee on April 12, 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Handy, W.T. 1924 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American Methodist ministers 20th-century Methodist bishops African-American Methodist clergy American people of Creole descent American United Methodist bishops Boston University alumni Clergy from New Orleans Dillard University alumni W.T. Interdenominational Theological Center alumni Louisiana Creole people NAACP activists United States Commission on Civil Rights members Date of birth missing