Justice Fighter's Sudden Death Shocks City

By Oliver Lukacs
Staff writer

Feb. 4 -- The "bright light" Rev. Ronald L. Williams brought to social justice causes in Santa Monica less than two years ago was suddenly extinguished early Tuesday morning by a fatal heart attack.

The death of the 48-year old pastor of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church shocked and surprised the community, spurring a flurry of emails from those touched by his short but supercharged social, political and religious life in the city.

Williams' "booming voice" was first heard by a large gathering of Santa Monicans at a Martin Luther King day celebration in the sanctuary of his Pico Neighborhood church one year ago, recalled Nathaniel Trives, a friend and the City's first black mayor.

His "powerful voice" continued to be heard pleading for the Living Wage in front of hotels, lobbying for naming the new Downtown library auditorium after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at City Council meetings and grieving the dead at the local 9/11 memorial.

But Williams also worked quietly behind the scenes with families in the Pico Neighborhood to help reduce gang violence and increase home ownership. And he was making headway as the head of his church's FAME Redevelopment Corporation, an organization that helped young people gain employment skills and meaningful jobs.

"Rev. Williams was an extremely bright light for this community," said former Mayor Michael Feinstein. "What made him particularly special is that he put himself out there one hundred percent, without reservation, showing to all that despite one's insecurities, if one is one hundred percent real, then people will respect and gravitate to that."

Feinstein remembered Williams for his strong community presence, which drew him, along with dozens of others, to the pastor's weekly walks through the violence-riddled streets of the Pico Neighborhood just to talk to people and shake their hands. It was part of his many community-building initiatives.

"In the end, that is why I believe he was so loved, because of the way he lived his life so fully and openly," Feinstein said. "He was an inspiration to others to do the same. It was that kind of magic and honesty that made his congregation such a safe and welcome place to be."

"He was also a tireless advocate for social justice," said Trives. "He will be missed by a lot of people in this community. We need to be there for his family during this time of grief with not only our prayers, but our comforting support in any way we can."

It was at the King celebration a year ago that Michele Wittig, who works with the church's redevelopment group, first heard the memorable voice of Rev. Williams when he was handed the microphone for public comment.

"He said something like, 'Let's make sure we do Martin Luther King's work 365 days a year, and not just today," Wittig said laughingly remembering the moment. "He happened to have a voice with resonance, it was commanding, and he used it very well."

Williams -- who moved from Oregon with his wife and four children to succeed Rev. Robert Ned as pastor of the FAME Church -- was recovering from a massive stroke in a rehabilitation center when a fatal heart attacked took his life at around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning

"It caught everyone as a surprise," said Darrell Goode, a member of the FAME "church family" and president of the Venice/Santa Monica chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which counted Williams among its ranks.

"I am really saddened and shocked," said Paul DeSantis, a member of the board Community Corporation of Santa Monica, which builds and manages affordable housing. "It's a tremendous loss to the community."

Using morality and "a sense of fairness" as his guiding light, Williams followed in the footsteps of Dr. King by providing "moral leadership" with a community voice that was "getting stronger and stronger, " DeSantis said.

"He had enormous potential," DeSantis said. "He was just getting started."

During his short time in Santa Monica, Williams helped the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Westside Coalition successfully lobby to name the auditorium in the proposed Downtown library after Dr. King.

In addition to his work with the church, Williams served on the Santa Monica College General Advisory Board and was a new member of the Rotary Club of Santa Monica.

"He was very busy all the time," said Goode. "But he was never too busy to listen to anyone."

Perhaps Williams' legacy is best summed up by his own words during the 9/11 memorial last year when he told those gathered that the lives of the victims killed by the attacks are made meaningful only if the living make the a world a better place to live.

"We must find a way not just to mourn," Williams said. "We cannot hang our heads down, we must lift them up… to bring real meaning to the lives that were lost. Let's take our pain and turn it into goodness."