GLIDE Co-founder Rev. Cecil Williams dies at 94

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — GLIDE Foundation Co-Founder Rev. Cecil Williams died Monday at the age of 94, KRON4 has confirmed. Williams died inside his San Francisco home surrounded by friends and family.

“Our hearts and prayers are with his loved ones,” a press release from GLIDE said in part. “We have lost an incomparable champion of social justice, civil and human rights, and liberation technology. For over 60 years, Reverend Cecil Williams expanded the limits of spirituality, compassion and diversity as Co-Founder and Minister of Liberation of GLIDE in San Francisco.”

Last December, GLIDE celebrated its 60th anniversary of serving San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. GLIDE has also fought for a variety of issues, including LGTBQ+ rights. Williams officiated one of the first gay marriages in the country.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed called Williams as someone whose “kindness brought people together and his vision changed our City and the world.”

“Growing up, there were members of the African-American community that inspired us to dream, and to serve, and Cecil Williams was at the top of that list,” Breed said in a press release. “As a young girl, I would never have dreamed I’d grow up to work with him. We all benefited from his guidance, his support, and his moral compass. We would not be who we are as a city and a people without the legendary Cecil Williams.”

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The San Francisco Giants and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff both posted on X in reaction to Williams’ passing.

Williams’ wife and GLIDE Co-founder Janice Mirikitani died in July 2021.

GLIDE is a nondenominational church based in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. The church is nationally recognized as a center for social justice.

This story will be updated.

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