Funeral Services for William Hudson Jr., the first African American to serve as president and general manager of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA), will be held at Monumental Baptist Church on Saturday (Aug. 31).
Mr. Hudson passed on Aug. 23. He was 79.
The celebration of his trailblazing legacy is set for 11 a.m. at the church at 704 S. Parkway East. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be on Friday from 5โ8 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donationsย may be sent to Mid-South Food Bank, 3865 S Perkins, Memphis, TN 38118 in memory of William Hudson Jr.. Or, visit www.midsouthfoodbank.org and designate a donation.
In 1964, Mr. Hudson became one of the first African Americans to drive buses for MATA. Nearly 30 years later, he became the first African-American to serve as president and general manager. He retired in 2013.
Alison Burton, his niece and former employee, remembers how he would go in to the office every day, seven days a week.
โAfter church, you always knew he was there working. I remember when he first became president, we were just employees coming to work for a paycheck. Mr. Hudson made us a family. He had programs and incentives. People were being recognized and rewarded for doing a good job. It was wonderful coming to work every day. MATA was his heart and soul.โ
Johnnie Mosley, president of Citizens For Better Service, encountered Mr. Hudson often while advocating for bus riders, especially the disabled.
โI have brought a number of issues to him regarding public transportation service, and he always did his best to accommodate those I represent. There were times when he was put in a very difficult place with trying to provide the best service without all the resources he really needed. But he worked diligently to resolve those issues,โ Mosley said.
โI had great respect for the kind of man and administrator he was, and I believe that respect was mutual. I have asked the MATA board to display Mr. Hudsonโs name, along with a photo and short bio, on a bus as a special tribute. I had this done in 2015 for Mr. John Smith, the very first black MATA bus driver.โ
Mr. Hudsonโs big brother, best friend and life-long โprotector,โ the Rev. Dr. Melvin Charles Smith, pastor of Mt. Moriah East Baptist Church, recalled the two growing up together.
โWhen I was five and Will was three, Mother said, โTake care of your brother.โ And thatโs just what I did from that day to this. When I was in the second grade and he was in the first, we had to share a pair of school shoes. School was divided in two sessions there at the time. We were at the old LaRose Elementary School on Wellington. โฆ I would wear the shoes in the morning classes from eight to 12, and I would bring them home and clean them up so Will could wear them in the afternoon from 12 to 4.โ
The brothers graduated from Booker T. Washington High School.
โWhen he decided that he wanted to drive the bus, I took him down to the MATA office. They refused to give him an application that day, but we werenโt giving up. We went back a second time, and he was able to complete the application. He got the job, and the rest is history.
โI would say, โBoy, Iโm proud of you,โ and he would say, โYou did it.โ But we know that God made it all happen.โ
During Mr. Hudsonโs administration, the new Central Station and the Riverfront and Madison Trolley rail lines were completed. Also, the Airways, American Way and North End Transit Centers were constructed. The North End facility was renamed for him after he retired.
In 2009, Mr. Hudson was inducted into the Tennessee Public Transportation Associationย Hall of Fame and he once served as president.
MATA Chief Communications Officer Nicole Lacey said, โMr. Hudson leaves an indelible mark in public transportation that will be remembered for decades to come.โ
