James Lawson

Engaging in thoughtful dialogue is not only essential in today’s society, but also is a trademark of the Vanderbilt experience, which begins with the first-year experience on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. On Sunday, Sept. 14, author Jacqueline Woodson spoke to a packed Langford Auditorium for the 19th Annual Lawson Lecture and offered a master class for the Class of 2029 on using storytelling to foster discourse and find connection, continuing the 2025–26 first-year programming theme of “Stories that Connect Us.”   Read More

Vanderbilt University celebrated the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events on and off campus. These commemorations brought together faculty, staff, students and members of the Nashville community, fostering reflection, dialogue and action in honor of King’s lasting impact. 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 Rev. James Morris Lawson Jr., a leader of the Civil Rights Movement who trained scores of activists during his time in Nashville—many of whom went on to prominence—and whose expulsion from Vanderbilt in 1960 led to national headlines and prompted some faculty members to resign in protest, died Sunday, June 9, in Los Angeles. He was 95. Read More

Since its founding in 1873, Vanderbilt has stayed true to its roots by breaking new ground in various ways, whether in its capacity to be a more welcoming and inclusive community, or in its pursuit of discoveries that help answer humanity’s most pressing questions. Here we present an illustrated guide to just a few of the many pioneering figures who have helped Vanderbilt dare to grow throughout its history. Read More

Lessons from the 1961 Freedom Rides and their relevance to today’s racial justice protests were discussed by alumnus and author Eric Etheridge and rider Rip Patten during a recent campus visit. Read More

To date, Rosevelt Noble has completed roughly 150 various interviews relating to his project and has taken more than 175,000 photos documenting the experience of African Americans on campus. 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

In 2007, Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff retraced the 1961 Freedom Rides with some of the original Freedom Riders as they traveled to Montgomery and Birmingham, Ala. Among the participants was Congressman John Lewis, Diane Nash, Bernard Lafayette, the Rev. C.T. Vivian, Jim Zwerg, John Seigenthaler and the Rev. James… 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

Civil rights movement leader the Rev. James Lawson will highlight the fall 2009 semester programming of Vanderbilt Divinity School when he delivers the annual Cole Lectures Oct. 15-16. Read More

Watch video of a ceremony unveiling the portrait of the Rev. James Lawson. Read More

Rev. James Lawson returns to Vanderbilt University as a Distinguished University Professor, more than four decades after a national furor over his expulsion from the university as a result of his civil rights activities. Read More

Political pundits have time to reflect in the days ahead on the reasons behind Barack Obama's historic election as the first African American president, but the president-elect must focus immediately on his transition and the challenges ahead, according to several Vanderbilt professors. Read More

Civil rights leader and non-violent activist the Rev. James Lawson will speak at Vanderbilt University this month as part of the University Seminar in Religion and Culture. Read More

Vanderbilt University will celebrate the establishment of the James M. Lawson Jr. Chair at Vanderbilt with a symposium on Lawson's legacy and an inaugural lecture by the first holder of the Lawson Chair. Read More

More than four decades after a national furor over the expulsion of James Lawson from Vanderbilt University, he will return as a Distinguished University Professor for the 2006-07 academic year. Read More

James M. Lawson, a Vanderbilt University Divinity School alumnus who led the sit-ins at Nashville’s segregated lunch counters and had a profound effect on Vanderbilt’s national identity, is the recipient of the 2002 Walter R. Murray Jr. Distinguished Alumnus Award. Read More