The Rev. James M. Lawson, an African-American minister in the Methodist Church, was a Korean War draft resister wh spent time in federal prison. When released he
went to India and studied with people who had worked with Gandhi to figure out how to apply Gandhian nonviolence to end the U.S.’s oppression of black people. He worked directly with Martin Luther King and was the prime organizer of the movement of students
to integrate Nashville’s lunch counters in 1961. He has been very courageous, radical and active in working for racial justice, peace, labor rights, GLBT rights, and other progressive concerns – always solidly grounded in principled nonviolence – both in
theory and in practice. He has been active with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and he chaired the FOR’s national b oard of directors (the National Council) when I served on it during the mid-1990s. He is wonderful to work with: a great listener, able
to hear all sides, and able to bring people together. And he is still radical as heck, calling and working for profound changes in our nation for peace and justice rooted in profound nonviolence. See more of his biographical background at the end of this
e-mail.
MONDAY MAY 5: The Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr., will
speak to peace and justice supporters, local government officials, and the general public
from 7 to 9 p.m. at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 8th & Washington, in downtown Olympia. He will share with us what he’s learned while in Olympia, about us a community. He will also share his thoughts
about activism, nonviolence and responsible citizenship in a democratic society. He will talk about building a community that both values activism – to promote better quality of life and greater equity among citizens – and ensures civility and respect for
the rights of all. The event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the City of Olympia, The Evergreen State College, The Hispanic Women’s Network, Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation, Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace, participating members
of Olympia Port Militarization Resistance, The Port of Olympia, Unity in the Community, and Veterans for Peace. (See poster below)
More information about the Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr.:
Lawson has been a leading figure in the civil rights movement for half a century.
Jesse Jackson referred to James Lawson as the teacher of the civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King described him as “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.”
During the Korean War, Lawson
was a conscientious objector and a minister, but he
set aside his
ministerial and education exemptions,
refused induction,
and was sentenced to federal
prison for three years.
After 14 months he was released and
served for three years as a Methodist missionary in India.
He studied Gandhi's strateg y of nonviolence in Nagpur, India at Hyslip College from 1952 to 1956.
In 1957 while the Rev. Lawson was still a student at Oberlin College Graduate School of Theology, Martin Luther King
invited him to become the Director of Nonviolent Education for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).
Lawson relocated to the South to lead workshops on nonviolence in such cities as Little Rock, Arkansas, Jackson, Mississippi, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Greensboro, North Carolina.
During 1958 and 1959 he
helped the Fellowship of Reconciliation organize nonviolent action for racial justice in the South. King asked him t o start organizing in Nashville.
In 1960-61 he organized and trained many college and seminary students to use nonviolence to integrate lunch counters in Nashville. Although the Vanderbilt Divinity School expelled him then, 36 years later Vanderbilt honored Lawson with a Distinguished Alumnus
Award for his actions.
From 1961 through the mid-1960s he coordinated the Freedom Ride, worked on the Birmingham campaign and the Meredith march in Mississippi, and
the 1961-67 Chicago march efforts. Lawson served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for 14 years, and was chair of the strategy committee for the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, which drew national attention. King was assassinated
while in Memphis supporting that effort.
After retiring as a Methodist pastor in Los Angeles, he has remained outspoken and active in fighting for peace and social justice and against
racism, as he has done throughout his career. He challenged the Cold War and U.S. military involvement in Angola, Cuba, and Central America. Even after his retirement, Lawson protested with the Janitors for Justice in Los Angeles, and with gay and lesbian
Methodists in Cleveland. He still organizes for positive social change through nonviolent means.
Lawson formerly served as the National Chairperson for the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
Lawson has lectured nationally and taught at several institutions, including Harvard, the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Southern California,
and the Claremont School of Theology. Currently he is a Distinguished Visiting Professor and Fellow at Vanderbilt University’s Center for the Study of Religion and Culture.
INFORMATION:
Paul D. Gallegos
Special Assistant to the President for Diversity Affairs & Equal Opportunity
360.867-6368 (voice)
360.867-6577 (fax)
THE EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
Seminar 1, Trailer B
Olympia,
WA 98505
