Civil Rights

Jim Emison is dedicated to seeking justice for Elbert Williams, the first known NAACP member to be racially terrorized and slain. Read More

With his deep understanding of nonviolent protest, the Rev. James M. Lawson (1928–2024) showed us the way forward for fighting injustice and left a legacy of courage and compassion. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives has fully digitized the Rev. James M. Lawson Papers and made these materials available to the general public, giving students, scholars and historians a more complete picture of the distinguished activist’s life and legacy. The collection is available online through the JSTOR digital library of academic journals, books and primary sources.  Read More

The event, hosted by The Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy and the Rogers Center for the American Presidency, is scheduled to take place Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m., and is free and open to the public; registration is required to attend. Read More

Andrew Maraniss, who wrote Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South, is working with Vanderbilt students from a unique position this academic year. He is spending part of his time as a writer-in-residence at The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, where he is… Read More

New first-of-its-kind research from two Vanderbilt Law School economists contradicts conventional wisdom and finds a female applicant strongly raises her chances of getting hired if she gives personal information clarifying her resume gaps. Read More

Watch video of the most recent presentation in the Food for Thought lunchtime series which took place on April 21. In partnership with the National Museum of African American Music and Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Vanderbilt presents a two-part Food for Thought series entitled The Soundtrack of Civil Rights. Panel… Read More

Morality is not declining in the modern world, says Edward Rubin, University Professor of Law and Political Science, in a new book. Instead, a new morality is replacing the previous one. Read More

The man sitting next to me on the night of Dec. 3, 2014, was Perry Wallace, and many of the 400 people approaching him were fellow Vanderbilt alumni, including members of Wallace’s Class of 1970. It was an exhilarating and emotional scene at the Nashville Public Library, the official launch of my biography of Wallace (Strong Inside), the first African American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center staff, faculty, students and guests packed 208 Light Hall Monday to honor the life and legacy of the late Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Read More

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has recognized Francis S. Guess, MBM’74,  for his commitment to equality, justice and the advancement of Middle Tennessee with the Kraft Humanitarian Award. He served six years on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and an additional 32 years on the Tennessee Human Rights… Read More

Watch video of the most recent presentation in the Food for Thought lunchtime series ­”Reflections of the Civil Rights Movement in Nashville: Then and Now,” which took place on November 5. In partnership with the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, the Vanderbilt University Office of Community, Neighborhood, and Government… Read More

The Rev. James E. Lawson Jr. and John Seigenthaler, two legends of the Civil Rights era who viewed non-violent demonstrations in Nashville from very different seats in the 1960s, sat side-by-side Tuesday at a packed lunchtime conversation in Light Hall about the essentials of developing moral leadership. Read More

Efforts by Nashville’s civil rights activists were key to the historic national struggle for civil rights. On Friday, April 30, members of Nashville’s movement will gather at Vanderbilt University to discuss their experiences. Read More