Rev. Edgar R. Edwards; Black Leader
The Rev. Edgar R. Edwards, a black minister whose church often served as a Los Angeles focal point for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference established by Martin Luther King, died Jan. 31.
He was 75 and died at California Hospital Medical Center of heart failure.
From 1965 until his retirement in 1981, Edwards was minister of Immanuel United Church of Christ (Congregational) in South-Central Los Angeles.
King and such associates as Ralph Abernathy made the church their gathering place during visits to Los Angeles.
After the Watts riots in 1965, Edwards and others formed Operation Breadbasket, a continuing program designed to help provide food and jobs for the poor of the area.
Through negotiations and sometimes boycotts, hundreds of jobs were made available to minority workers.
A graduate of California Baptist Theological Seminary in Covina, Edwards is survived by his wife, Vivian, a daughter, Eileen Ann Wells, and four grandchildren.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
