Vanderbilt leaders honor Rep. John Lewis and civil rights historical past of Nashville (VIDEO) | Information

Vanderbilt University joined the Nashville community leaders to pay tribute to the Nashville life and legacy of US Rep. John Lewis with the formal dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way and a public ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium.

The celebration traced the path of Lewis and many others trained in civil disobedience by Rev. James Lawson. Nashville sit-ins have historically been identified as central to the nonviolence movement that initiated the desegregation in Nashville and the southeastern United States.

Among the speakers from Vanderbilt University were:

• Samar Ali (Steering Committee Member), Research Professor of Political Science and Law, Co-Chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, and CEO of Millions of Conversations.
• André L. Churchwell, MD, Vice Chancellor for Justice, Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer
• Daniel Diermeier, chancellor
• Michael Eric Dyson, Centennial Chair and University Distinguished Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies at the College of Arts and Science and University Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Society in the Divinity School
• Rev. James Lawson, civil rights icon, Nashville sit-in participant and Vanderbilt University Distinguished Professor, retired

• Jon Meacham, Carolyn T., and Robert M. Rogers Professor of American Presidency, co-chairs of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, Pulitzer-winning biographer, and author of the New York Times bestseller His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, with an afterword by John Lewis, and
• Caroline Randall Williams, Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University, who wrote an original poem “Chicken Scratch: An Elegy for John Lewis” to mark the celebration.

The inauguration of the John Lewis Way was presided over by committee chairman Zulfat Suara, a general member of the Nashville Metro Council. Other moderators were the former Vice President Al Gore, the freedom rider Dr. Katherine Brooks, the Mayor of Nashville John Cooper, the screenwriter, producer and director Callie Khouri (Nashville, Thelma & Louise), the entertainer Darius Rucker, the president of American Baptist College, Forrest E. Harris Sr., Fisk University president Vann Newkirk Sr. and Tennessee State Senator Brenda Gilmore. Musical director for the inauguration was T Bone Burnett, the multiple Grammy award winning record producer and Oscar winner.

The Rep. John Lewis Way co-sponsors included Vanderbilt University, the Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy, Millions of Conversations, Fisk University, and the American Baptist College.