William G. Anderson, a physician and prominent civil rights activist who led a major campaign against racial segregation in Albany, Georgia, during the early 1960s, died on August 16 at his home in Detroit. He was 98. His daughter, Valé Henson, confirmed his death.
Dr. Anderson, an osteopath, stepped away from his medical practice in Albany in 1961 to head the Albany Movement, a coalition of local Black organizations and civil rights groups dedicated to challenging the city’s entrenched system of racial segregation. The movement emerged during a crucial period in the civil rights struggle, wedged between earlier campaigns such as the Montgomery bus boycott and subsequent efforts like the Birmingham campaign and the 1963 March on Washington.
Under Dr. Anderson’s leadership, the Albany Movement sought to integrate public businesses and test federal anti-discrimination laws, including in interstate bus travel. The campaign led to the arrest of approximately 1,200 demonstrators over the course of about a year, including Dr. Anderson himself, who was briefly jailed. As arrests increased and media attention grew, Dr. Anderson invited the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to join the protests, recognizing the need for additional support.
Dr. King, along with his associate Ralph Abernathy, spent months organizing in Albany and were also arrested. While Dr. King later described the movement as unsuccessful in forcing immediate change, Anderson and others argued that it laid groundwork for gradual dismantling of segregationist policies, with Albany’s white leadership eventually easing some restrictions and permitting Black candidates to run for local office.
Born on December 12, 1927, in Americus, Georgia, Anderson entered Fort Valley State College at 15 before enlisting in the Navy in 1944, where he served as a medical corpsman during World War II. After the war, he married Norma Lee Dixon, also a civil rights activist, and pursued his education in biology and osteopathy at Alabama State University and Des Moines University, respectively. He began practicing medicine in Albany following a residency in Michigan.
Despite the challenges of segregation—in Albany, white doctors often refused to treat Black patients and Anderson was barred from practicing at the city’s hospital—he continued serving his community through house calls, often under difficult conditions. His involvement in civil rights began after witnessing young activists from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee face intimidation while protesting segregation.
Dr. Anderson later moved to Detroit, where he became the city’s first Black surgical resident and established a surgical practice. He also taught at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine and became the first Black president of the American Osteopathic Association in 1994.
Convicted of obstruction of justice related to the Albany protests, Dr. Anderson regarded his status as a felon as a symbol of his dedication to civil rights. He chronicled his experiences in a memoir that highlighted his role in the movement and the broader struggle for equality.
He is survived by five children, including Valé Henson, ten grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. His legacy remains tied to his courageous leadership during a pivotal chapter of the American civil rights era.