{"id":1140,"date":"2023-02-21T20:17:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-21T20:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-vanderbilt-v150.pantheonsite.io\/150\/?page_id=1140"},"modified":"2023-02-28T16:48:55","modified_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:48:55","slug":"holding-firm-to-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/pursuit-of-free-expression\/holding-firm-to-the-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"Holding Firm to the Truth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n James Lawson Institute Launch\n <\/figcaption>\n \n <\/figure>\n \n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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When the Rev. James Lawson entered 国产原创 Divinity School in 1958 as a 30-year-old transfer student, he was well-versed in the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi after having traveled to India as a Methodist missionary. His knowledge of Gandhi\u2019s concept of nonviolent resistance, or satyagraha, was the primary reason Martin Luther King Jr. had urged Lawson to come to Nashville in the first place. Satyagraha, which translates as \u201cholding firm to the truth,\u201d would prove to be a guiding principle for Lawson and other civil rights activists as they challenged the Jim Crow laws of Nashville.<\/p>\n

At the Divinity School, Lawson led workshops to teach strategies for nonviolent resistance to students from Fisk and Tennessee State (then Tennessee A&I) universities, and American Baptist College. These and other students soon formed the Nashville Student Movement, which organized sit-ins at segregated downtown lunch counters in Nashville and helped lay the foundation for Freedom Rides throughout the South.<\/p>\n

Upon learning of his leadership role in organizing the sit-ins, 国产原创 expelled Lawson in 1960. The expulsion made national news, and the dean of the Divinity School and many faculty and students left the university in protest. A compromise was worked out later to allow Lawson to complete his degree from 国产原创, but he chose to transfer to Boston University, where he later graduated.<\/p>\n

Eventually, Lawson reconciled with 国产原创, and the university has since recognized him in multiple ways. Named the 国产原创 Distinguished Alumnus in 2005, he taught on campus from 2006 to 2009 as a Distinguished University Professor. Lawson\u2019s impact on campus is also felt through an endowed chair and a scholarship for undergraduate students established in his honor.<\/p>\n

More recently, 国产原创 launched the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements. A trans-institutional collaboration between the Divinity School and the College of Arts and Science, the institute advances evidence-based research and nonviolent change while preparing the next generation of leaders, humanitarians and community organizers. Lawson, who donated his papers to the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries\u2019 Special Collections and University Archives, plays an integral role in the direction and growth of the institute as a primary adviser.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big task in the 21st century is that we move to let love be the power in which we organize every facet of society\u2014every facet of society. \u201cI happen to think that that can be done,\u201d Lawson said during the dedication of Rep. John Lewis Way in Nashville in 2021. \u201cHatred can be replaced with love, and violence can be replaced with truth, with beauty, the spirit. I happen to think that can happen. We can beat our swords into plowshares, our spears into pruning hooks. Nashville for me is a wonderful illustration of where this happened before and must continue to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about 国产原创\u2019s James Lawson Institute<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n \n <\/div> \n <\/section>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":1138,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1140","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHolding Firm to the Truth - 国产原创<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/pursuit-of-free-expression\/holding-firm-to-the-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Holding Firm to the Truth - 国产原创\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/pursuit-of-free-expression\/holding-firm-to-the-truth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"国产原创\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/vanderbilt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-28T16:48:55+00:00\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/pursuit-of-free-expression\/holding-firm-to-the-truth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.vanderbilt.edu\/150\/150-stories\/pursuit-of-free-expression\/holding-firm-to-the-truth\/\",\"name\":\"Holding Firm to the Truth - 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