July 27, 2021 |
More than four decades after Vanderbilt University expelled Rev. James Lawson for his involvement in the civil rights movement, private Nashville University decided to honor the civil rights activist by founding the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements at Vanderbilt -University.
The institute, which opens this fall, “will promote evidence-based research and education rooted in nonviolent strategies, build and deepen partnerships in Nashville, and develop leaders capable of contributing to a thriving society,” university officials said . The institute will also host public workshops, seminars, and learning opportunities to train the next generation of community organizers equipped with the skills to make meaningful and sustainable change.
Rev. James Lawson
“In these deeply polarizing times, Rev. James Lawson guides us through a lasting message of compassion and redemption toward a more just world. As he has taught throughout his career, without reconciliation and forgiveness there can be no meaningful change and progress – no bridging the gap in our nation, “said Vanderbilt Chancellor Dr. Daniel Diermeier. “I am excited to see the impact this new institute has on our community, particularly the opportunities it creates for constructive discourse and the lessons in leadership it will offer our students.”
As a staunch supporter of the teachings of Mahatma Gandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught Lawson – who is now 92 years old – to a group of college students who later became members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC.) And are revolutionizing the nation by sit-ins at separate lunch tables across the board South. The late Congressman John Lewis was one of that group of SNCC activists.
“The Lawson Institute will energize our campus as we seek changes that will make our society more just and more united in these divided and unequal times,” said Dr. John Geer, Ginny and Conner Searcy Dean of the College of Arts and Science and Professor of Political Science. “The ability to address and resolve pressing social problems through this new institute will make it a company worthy of James Lawson and his amazing legacy.”
The focus of the institute’s concerns are three major goals: to advance research, to promote dialogue in order to promote “informed and civic engagement in the 21st century and beyond” and to train the next generation through scholarships and postdoc positions. Vanderbilt officials said the institute will “build a bridge between theory and practice and better prepare students to focus their passion for effective leadership with implications well beyond Vanderbilt.”
In an interview with Diverse, Dr. Phillis Isabella Sheppard, E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Associate Professor of Religion, Psychology, and Culture at the Vanderbilt School of Divinity and Director of the Lawson Institute that they are enthusiastic about the collaboration can take place across the university and across the city of Nashville. 
“Working together is at the heart of what we do,” she said, adding that she is excited about the prospect of bringing Lawson to some of the Institute’s initiatives, adding that he is “a wonderfully brilliant practitioner that we ours Students wish ”. get abandoned.”
Despite his unjustified expulsion from the university in 1960, Lawson and Vanderbilt were reconciled and joined the faculty as a Distinguished University Professor.
“I am very excited that we will be launching the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements this fall,” said Dr. Emilie Townes, dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School and distinguished professor of womanist ethics and society. “In doing so, we honor the testimony of Rev. Lawson and recognize the continuing importance of seeking change through persistent determination and non-violent witness.”
Walter Hudson can be reached at [email protected]
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