Civil Rights Hero Addresses Harpeth Hall Students

10/23/2007- Harpeth Hall

Considered the architect of the Civil Rights Movement's non-violent methods, the Rev. James Lawson was the distinguished guest speaker at an all-school assembly on Tuesday, October 23.

In his remarks to students, the Rev. Lawson encouraged them:

• To become a human being of character, courage and compassion
• To find their own voices in their own lives
• To stand with others in helping to solve the world's problems and to have a vision of hope for every person
• To insist upon non-violence

As a young man, the Rev. James Lawson studied Gandhi's non-violent methods, and these became an integral part of the Civil Rights movement. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called Rev. Lawson, "the leading nonviolence theorist in the world."

In 1957, Dr. King invited Mr. Lawson to Nashville to help with the civil rights struggles here. Mr. Lawson moved to Nashville and enrolled in Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. While there, he helped organize sit-ins, which led to the end of racial segregation of lunch counters in downtown Nashville. Unfortunately, his efforts also led to his expulsion from Vanderbilt University. Although he was later re-instated, Mr. Lawson chose to complete his degree at Boston University. Last year, Rev. Lawson was awarded Vanderbilt's Distinguished Alumnus Award and became the Distinguished University Professor for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.

In his remarks to Harpeth Hall students, Rev. Lawson explained how something such as his expulsion and the hardships of that time can be healed, and life can change.

"Why is it important to understand our past? By understanding the mistakes of our past we can pick up the truths and apply them to our own lives," said Rev. Lawson.

After the assembly, Rev. Lawson held question and answer sessions with a group of seventh- and eighth-graders as well as Upper School students.

Upper School English teacher Nancy Grimes coordinated Rev. Lawson's visit as the culmination of a freshmen English 1 project. After students read The Secret Lives of Bees, they did research projects on the Civil Rights era. One of those projects, a photo story video created by freshmen Katie Beach and Saxby Wiles of the Civil Rights movement in Nashville and featuring Rev. Lawson, was shown to students at the assembly.

"What I hope they will remember from this experience is that a very great, very famous man stood before them and focused his attention, not on his own victories or achievements of the past but on his vision for a brighter future. Affirming each one of them as very special people, created for the unique gifts that they can bring to resolve the conflicts that plague the modern world, he challenged each of them to create a vision for themselves of who they want to be and to practice being that person every day of their lives in order to bring about love and healing within the Human Family," concluded Nancy Grimes.