Black Excellence
In Memoriam: Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. (1928 – 2024)
James M. Lawson Jr., a Methodist minister who became the teacher of the civil rights movement, has died.

James M. Lawson Jr., a Methodist minister who became the teacher of the civil rights movement, has died.
He was 95.
Rev James M. Lawson Jr passes
Lawson died Sunday of cardiac arrest en route to a Los Angeles hospital, according to his son J. Morris Lawson III.
Civil rights activist
Lawson was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1928, according to his biography by The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
For decades, Lawson worked as a pastor, labor movement organizer and university professor.
Recruited by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Lawson trained hundreds of youthful protesters in nonviolent tactics that made the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins a model for fighting racial inequality in the 1960s.
Dubbed ad “the leading nonviolence theorist” by King, Lawson had studied Gandhi’s philosophy in India before joining the movement in the South. He led seminars throughout the region and became a gallivanting spokesperson for the Southern Christian Leadership. Conference.
In 1968, he invited King to speak to striking sanitation workers in Memphis, where the captivating preacher was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel.
Lawson committed his life to civil rights, working with various groups in the South until 1974, when he moved to L.A. to become pastor of Holman United Methodist Church. He led the church for 25 years. He retired in 1999 but remained an activist for peace and social justice.
He also taught at the University of California Los Angeles’ college of social sciences, and university officials there called him “one of the most impactful social justice leaders of the twentieth-century.”
Discover more from Unheard Voices Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
-
In Memoriam5 days ago
Army Veteran William Govaniavic Venus dies delivering medicine amid Texas floods
-
Crime & Justice1 week ago
North Carolina detention officer’s slaying devastates community; GoFundMe launched
-
Black And Missing1 day ago
Grandfather travels 8,000 miles for grandson’s graduation in Alabama, then disappears
-
Police1 week ago
North Carolina woman sues police after wrongful arrest
-
News2 weeks ago
UPS Driver who saved woman’s life becomes lifelong supporter as she battles cancer
-
News3 days ago
Chicago Hero: Earl Abernathy rescues abducted infant amid gridlock traffic; GoFundMe launched
-
In Memoriam1 week ago
GoFundMe launched after Outlawz rapper Young Noble dies at 47
-
Crime & Justice2 weeks ago
16-year-old football star and honor student killed in tragic shooting