James Lawson

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos unveiled four portraits on Saturday that are part of a new “Vanderbilt Trailblazers” series to honor members of the Vanderbilt community who broke barriers at the university and in society at large. Read More

The new Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. Scholarship provides need-based financial support for underrepresented minority students who demonstrate a commitment to civil rights and social justice. Read More

Stacey Floyd-Thomas will discuss "It's a Surreal World After All" when she delivers the Mafoi Carlisle Bogitsh Memorial Lecture March 2 at Vanderbilt Divinity School. Read More

Vanderbilt recently celebrated Equality Weekend, a two-day event that honored 21 of Nashville’s civil rights leaders and marked the 50th anniversary of Vanderbilt breaking the SEC’s color barrier with men’s basketball players Perry Wallace and Godfrey Dillard. The 21 leaders were honored at the Commodores’ men’s basketball game on Feb. 18 and the women’s game on Feb. 19—both Vanderbilt victories. Read More

Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos led his inaugural Chancellor Charter Nov. 5, guiding approximately 30 students, faculty and staff on an interfaith tour of Nashville and sharing some of the city’s history. Read More

Noted civil rights leader James Lawson, the keynote speaker for Vanderbilt's 2016 MLK Commemoration, told a capacity audience that the American people must choose if the country is to move into a true democracy with equality, freedom and justice for all. Read More

The Vanderbilt community celebrated the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events Jan. 15-18, including lectures, service activities and participation in the Nashville Freedom March. See coverage on the Get Social website. Read More

The Rev. James Lawson, whom Martin Luther King Jr. called “the leading nonviolence theorist in the world,” will deliver the keynote address at Vanderbilt University’s MLK Day celebration Monday, Jan. 18. The theme for the commemoration is “Apathy to Action: Activism, Allyship and Anti-Racism.” 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

A new Vanderbilt residence hall pays tribute to the legacy of civil rights pioneer and former Vanderbilt Divinity School assistant dean Kelly Miller Smith. Read More

Retired Vanderbilt Divinity Professor Ed Farley's memoir speaks to the next generation of theologians. Read More

Vanderbilt Central Library shares stories of journalists and others who put their lives on the line for freedom in a new exhibition open to the public. Read More

Vanderbilt graduating seniors got some parting advice from Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos on a rainy Friday as they prepared to get their degrees. Read More

Emilie M. Townes was installed Aug. 23 at Benton Chapel as the Vanderbilt Divinity School's 16th dean. Read More

The Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., who has played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement and Vanderbilt University’s history, has donated a significant portion of his papers to Vanderbilt Libraries’ Special Collections. 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

The Rev. James Lawson A public conversation between the Rev. James Lawson, a major civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. to implement the principles of nonviolence, and John Seigenthaler, who worked in the United States Department of Justice, is scheduled for noon Tuesday, Aug. 14. Read More

Digitized versions of the original reel-to-reel recordings that author Robert Penn Warren conducted with Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and other key leaders in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement are now searchable through the Who Speaks for the Negro website housed at Vanderbilt University. 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