Award-winning filmmakers Karen Hayes and Pamela Tom will speak at Vanderbilt University’s 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration. The kickoff event is scheduled for 5 to 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 15, in Sarratt Cinema.
During the event, Hayes and Tom will discuss their new film, A Better Way: James Lawson, Architect of Nonviolence, insights into the filmmaking process, their time with the Rev. James Lawson, Lawson’s connections with Vanderbilt and Nashville, and the impact of his work in the broader Civil Rights Movement. The discussion will be moderated by Phillis Sheppard, executive director of Vanderbilt’s James Lawson Institute and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Religion, Psychology, Culture and Womanist Thought.
Lawson, influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence, moved to Nashville in 1958 and led workshops on nonviolent resistance at Vanderbilt Divinity School, inspiring the formation of the Nashville Student Movement. His leadership in the 1960 sit-ins helped spark the Freedom Rides, and after being expelled for his activism, Lawson later returned to Vanderbilt as a Distinguished University Professor, with the James Lawson Institute established in his honor. Lawson died in 2024. He was 95.
A meet-and-greet reception in Sarratt Gallery will follow the event, with artifacts from the James Lawson Institute collection on display and light refreshments. This event is free and open to the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities.
Vanderbilt launched its annual MLK Commemorative Series in 1985 to honor King’s legacy through programs, lectures, interactive teach-ins and community service.
Other Vanderbilt MLK Commemorative Events
40th Annual Nashville MLK March & Convocation
Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the 2025 Nashville MLK Day March and Convocation, celebrating 40 years of honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Nashville.
Transportation will be available, and all Vanderbilt attendees who register to attend will receive a complimentary MLK Day hoodie. Vanderbilt community members will march together with members of the greater Nashville community from the Jefferson Street Missionary Baptist Church to the TSU Gentry Center.
- Date: Monday, Jan. 20
- Details: Check-in and hoodie distribution begins at 7:30 a.m. in the Sarratt Gallery and The Commons Center lobby. Buses depart from these locations at 8:15 a.m.
- The march will last from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. along Jefferson Street, with convocation within the TSU Gentry Center from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Students who attend will receive credit toward VandyPASS through the Career Center.
Register for the march and breakfast in the Sarratt Gallery.
Register for the march and breakfast at The Commons Center.
MLK Joint Day of Service
The MLK Joint Day of Service is an annual celebration of King’s legacy. On Saturday, Jan. 25, students and staff from all of Nashville’s colleges and universities will come together at Meharry Medical College for a kickoff event and then volunteer at community service projects across the city.
- Date: Saturday, Jan. 25
- Time: 11 a.m.–4 p.m.
Student participation counts toward Commons and College Cup points. Register to attend by visiting Anchor Link.
Visit the Nashville MLK website for more information about volunteer and educational opportunities.
