By Dr. Veena Howard, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy; Endowed Chair in Jain and Hindu Dharma; Director, M.K. Gandhi Center: Inner Peace and Sarvodaya
Photo: Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. speaks at the Fresno State Gandhi’s Global Legacy conference in 2019.
The Reverend James M. Lawson Jr., the legendary leader and tactician of nonviolence within the United States’ Civil Rights Movement, which Lawson referred to as the “Rosa Parks-Martin Luther King, Jr.” Movement, passed away on June 9 at the age of 95.
His death came as a shock, as I had spoken with him just a couple of months back. He briefly mentioned to me his health issues, and I told him that I wished him good health and a very long life. He was enthusiastic about his forthcoming memoir and documentary. In 2023, I attended his 95th birthday in Los Angeles, where he lived with his family and had served as the pastor of Holman United Methodist Church, retiring in 1999. Even though his body looked a bit weaker, his mind was strong and lucid, and his face radiated a big smile as he greeted his family, friends and colleagues.
While cherishing many memories of my personal encounters, conversations and travels with him, I mourn the loss of a great friend, mentor and exemplary leader whom I hold in my highest regard. Within hours, the news of his death was covered in all major newspapers across the world. I also began receiving many messages of condolence from various friends and colleagues. I feel sadness by this huge loss but also deep gratitude for having had the opportunity to meet and spend time with a towering figure like the Reverend James Lawson.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called the Reverend Lawson “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” He successfully mobilized students in nonviolent direct-action campaigns against inhumane segregationist laws during the 1950s and 1960s in Nashville, TN, and other cities in the U.S. South. Lawson studied Mahatma Gandhi’s strategies of nonviolence and satyagraha, and he used them creatively to confront the violence of racist laws, labor exploitation, xenophobia and gender discrimination.
In a recent communication, Dr. Mary Elizabeth King, a dear friend who worked closely with the Reverend Lawson, shared her sadness by this loss.
“Most do not understand that Dr. King didn’t really fathom the power of nonviolent action until Jim Lawson returned from his three years spent in central India.”
The Reverend Lawson offered a new direction for the Southern movement against racist laws. I believe that his innovation of Gandhian strategy for U.S. nonviolent struggle affirmed the broader applications of nonviolent action that can be replicated in different cultures and contexts. His legacy became the guiding light for thousands who looked for a way to enact change.
As a Gandhi scholar, I read about Lawson’s sit-in workshops and mobilizations to desegregate public places, but it was only eight years ago that I met the Reverend Lawson. This encounter resulted in the beginning of our deep friendship. He reminded me frequently that I was in the circle of his friends.
I had the opportunity to invite him to Fresno State in 2017 and 2019, and he also participated in a Zoom webinar in 2020. He shared with me that he “was impressed by Fresno State’s commitment to the culture of peace, nonviolence, and care” and that “these visits were among his most memorable events.”
In his 2017 address to an audience of over 300 Fresno State students, faculty, campus leaders and community members, Lawson called us to rise against the forces of “racism, sexism, violence and plantation capitalism,” which continue to permeate the various aspects of our life.
Although Lawson had reduced his travel at the age of 91, he accepted my invitation, on behalf of Fresno State’s leadership team and community, to participate in our Gandhi’s Global Legacy Conference (2019), commemorating Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. While providing a history of nonviolence to confront injustice and inequity, the Rev. Lawson boldly claimed nonviolent action as scientific.
“I propose to you today that we see Gandhi as the father of nonviolence, not the inventor, but the father of nonviolence, like Albert Einstein [who can be considered the father of physics].”
Throughout his life, through his mobilizations and consultations with leaders and support of the United States’ different movements—including the Civil Rights movement, the United Farm Workers’ movement, the Black Lives Matter Movement and workers’ justice struggles—the Reverend Lawson showed that nonviolent direct action is relevant and effective in confronting society’s ills. Addressing systemic issues requires a “better way,” and he translated active defiance as love-force and soul-force.
My hope is that the life and legacy of this man who embodied love-force in his private and public life will continue to inspire generations of activists and researchers to experiment with and study “the science of nonviolent action.” We must always look for a “better way” to solve our problems—and may the Reverend Lawson shine as the beacon of light who illuminated the path through his own example!
