Martin Luther King Jr. called civil rights pioneer, the Rev. James Lawson, the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence.
The Rev. James Lawson, an architect of the Civil Rights Movement who preached nonviolent protest, has died. He's shown here speaking to union workers in 2011 on the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.The Rev. James Lawson was a staunch advocate for nonviolent resistance to racism, even in the face of brutality.
The Rev. James Lawson speaks speaks during a celebration of life marking the one-year anniversary of U.S Rep. John Lewis's death July 17, 2021 in Nashville, Tenn. A portrait of Rep. Lewis is shown in the background., and Lawson transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville. There he led Saturday workshops in nonviolent strategies, drawing students from nearby colleges.
Lawson traveled around the South, in coordination with King, to prepare activists for nonviolent action, giving them the tools and tactics needed to face violent pushback from white supremacists. The list of Lawson’s students reads like a who’s who of civil rights luminaries, among them — John Lewis, Diane Nash, James Bevel, Bernard Lafayette, and the Little Rock Nine, the Black students who integrated Central High School.
“I want to commend the preacher under the leadership of these noble men, James Lawson, one who has been in this struggle for many years,” King said from the pulpit of Mason Temple. “He's been to jail for struggling. He's been kicked out of Vanderbilt University for this struggle, but he's still going on fighting for the rights of his people.”“For me, it was one of the zenith experiences of a whole movement,” he said. “There was a sense inside of warmth and unity.
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