Rev. James Lawson
By Katie Murdoch

A leader in the Civil Rights movement, Rev. James Lawson will be visiting EvCC to give a lecture on the non-violent movements of the 20th century.

Lawson was a collegue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and like him, promoted racial equalitiy through peaceful demonstrations. While attending Vandervilt Univestiy, Lawson ran non-violent training workshops for the Southern Christian Leadership Congerence and organized “sit-ins.” His activists formed the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and participated in the 1963 March on Washington and The Mississippi Freedom Summer.

In the 1960s, Lawson adopted the slogan, “I am a Man,” and invited King to give his famous speech. He also became pastor of the Centenary Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He also was chairman of the strke committee when African-American sanitation workiers demanded higher wages and union recognition.

Lawson teaches “Non-violence and Social Movements,” at the UCLA and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for the Advancement of Non-violence. He also received of the 2004 Peace award.

Lawson will give his lecture, “A Long Walk Toward Freedom: The Civil Rights Struggle 40 Years Later,” at noon in Baker 120 and 7:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room.

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