Phillis Sheppard

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. 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. 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