Reverend James Lawson (Boston University, ’60) — renowned civil rights activist and former Vanderbilt student — died on June 9, 2024, at the age of 95. Lawson was an active leader of the civil rights movement, and he was expelled from Vanderbilt in 1960 following his participation in sit-in protests in Nashville. Lawson was a close advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. He led workshops to train activists, including John Lewis and Diane Nash, in the art of nonviolent protest — resulting in Nashville becoming the first major city in the South with a desegregated downtown area.
Lawson was born on Sept. 22, 1928, in Ohio, where he earned a preacher’s license during high school. He was a dedicated pacifist and worked as a Methodist pastor in Memphis, Tenn., in 1962, after completing his theology degree at Boston University in 1960. Lawson’s wife, Dorothy Wood Lawson, worked as an organizer for the NAACP until the two moved to Los Angeles in 1974. There, Lawson continued to work as a pastor and contribute to civil rights movements, involving himself with the labor movement as part of the ACLU as well as movements promoting reproductive choice and LGBTQ+ rights.
James Lawson Institute
In 2022, Lawson helped to launch the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements at Vanderbilt. As a partnership between the Divinity School and the College of Arts and Science, the JLI was formed to promote research and education on nonviolent movements, foster partnerships with the Nashville community and support the next generation of peaceful activists.
The JLI was founded to continue Lawson’s legacy and promote his values of nonviolence and social change in a faith-based context. Phillis Isabella Sheppard has served as the inaugural director of the institute since its formation.
“Most of us experience this loss in a very powerful way — on a personal level but also with the impact it has on the movement,” Sheppard said. “I think these kinds of losses can stall a movement or propel a movement and keep it going.”
Sheppard expressed deep gratitude for the work that Lawson accomplished during his life, and she believes the JLI will continue to carry on his legacy in promoting nonviolent resistance.
“The bigger question is ‘how does the Institute continue to deepen its roots at the university?’” Sheppard said. “For me, that includes ‘how do we continue to teach the practice of nonviolent direct action? How do we continue to do the research?’”
Lawson’s legacy
Lawson continued his work in the pursuit of nonviolent resistance throughout his career, hosting training sessions to promote peaceful protest strategies until his death. He taught at Vanderbilt as a Distinguished Professor from 2006 to 2009 and donated his papers to the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Special Collection in 2013. Lawson also led the Civil Discourse and Social Change initiative at California State University Northridge as a visiting faculty member in 2010 and taught a course on nonviolent movements there for almost 14 years.
Professor Dennis Dickerson — the Reverend James M. Lawson Chair in History — said he shared a long relationship with Lawson and admired his strong loyalty to his faith and moral values. Dickerson described Lawson’s commitment to the nonviolence movement as a “moral crusade.”
“I treasure all the interactions I’ve had with Reverend Lawson as a man of deep moral commitment and someone who is genuinely and internally immersed in the principles and practices of nonviolence,” Dickerson said. “It pervades his very being.”
Dickerson discussed the grief he felt at learning Lawson had passed, saying it was not unexpected while also reflecting on the pain his loss has left.
“I was personally very sad. I know he was 95, but I still wasn’t ready to let him go,” Dickerson said. “He was a good man. If you’re looking for a blueprint on how to get to heaven, he’s your blueprint.”
Dickerson specifically recalled hearing about Lawson’s arrest in 1960 and his dedication to pursuing justice. Dickerson said Lawson exhibited “determined moral strength” as he accepted the penalty of arrest because he refused to obey what he believed to be an unjust law.
“It’s not like this was the result of having lived several decades — this was when he was a youth fresh out of college,” Dickerson said. “It’s incredible.”
Lawson’s influence today
In discussing the recent pro-Palestine protests on campus this past spring semester, Dickerson reiterated Lawson’s allegiance to his pacifist values, and he said he believes Lawson would have promoted peaceful solutions while maintaining a “mutual affirmation that all life matters.”
“Whatever pursuit in which you’re engaged, human life has to be respected and protected. That’s the important thing,” Dickerson said. “Now, people are going to stand on different sides of an issue, and this issue is no different than any other issue. James Lawson would say, ‘What’s the nonviolent solution?’”
Sheppard said she hopes the protests lead to increased dialogue focused on the direct outcomes students have been pursuing. She highlighted Lawson’s encouragement of students to write their wills during his training sessions as he understood the critical risks involved in protest movements. Sheppard said resistance tactics should be chosen for their outcome and effectiveness, and she encouraged protestors to be “in it for the long haul.”
“I think that that’s something that we could stress more — that we do risk assessments [in our trainings] — that we know what it is we’re deciding to do and what the risks involved are,” Sheppard said. “Because if there were no risk, there would be no need for, not just protests, but all forms of nonviolent direct action.”
VSG Vice President Ellie Kearns, a senior, said that she hopes Vanderbilt students will learn from Lawson’s commitment to the nonviolence movement. Her wish is that students will carry on his legacy by continuing to advocate for social change while working to “dismantle the systems of oppression” present in the world today.
“Vanderbilt’s expulsion of Reverend Lawson marked a dark time in our school’s history. Inappropriately and/or disproportionately punishing student protestors, including James Lawson, has not promoted peace, order or justice,” Kearns said in a message to The Hustler. “I hope that the current administration will truly honor James Lawson’s contribution to the civil rights movement and broader social justice activism by encouraging nonviolent student activism, protecting students’ due process rights and practicing restorative justice principles when necessary during student disciplinary proceedings.”
In emphasizing the importance of continuing Lawson’s work, Sheppard encouraged people to reflect on the role of higher education in creating spaces for dialogue between differing points of view.
“I think that the commitment to continuing the work of Reverend Lawson has to become crucial, not just because we have an institute, but because we have a world that is, as [Lawson] would say, hell-bent on violence,” Sheppard said.
Dickerson echoed the significance of Lawson’s legacy, inviting students to advocate for what they believe in while pursuing nonviolent solutions.
“Stand for something, and with what you stand for, make sure that whatever your position is that it affirms and values human beings. And in the pursuit of those things that you believe in, make sure you do no harm to anyone,” Dickerson said. “That’s his legacy.”
