For Black History Month\, join the Library and Politics and Prose Bookstore for a special conversation about Non violent: A Memoir of Resistance\, Agitation\, and Love\, the memoir o f the late Reverend James Lawson Jr. Rev. Lawson's co-author Emily Yellin will be joined by John C. Lawson II and Episcopal Bishop of Washington Mar iann Budde to remember and celebrate Lawson's life and legacy. \;
\ nCopies of the book will be available for sale from Politics and Prose. \;
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\nThe posthumous memoir of
Rev. James Lawson Jr.\, peer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\, mentor to Con
gressman John Lewis and the Freedom Riders\, and a principal architect of
a nonviolent resistance movement that changed the world. Rev. Lawson was o
ne of the most influential yet unheralded heroes of the civil rights era.
He rose as a strategist\, teacher\, and organizer in pivotal campaigns on
the national stage against racial and economic injustice. Lawson&rsquo\;s
memoir spans 95 years\, but it begins far from the spotlight in a large\,
working-class Ohio family. The son and grandson of Methodist ministers\, h
e receives his license to preach before graduating from high school. Lawso
n goes on to serve time in prison for refusing the Korean War draft\, and
learns from independence movements during three years in India and Africa.
He then fortifies the principles of a new American Revolution when he tea
ches nonviolent direct action centered in love and moral clarity to the Li
ttle Rock Nine\, the Mississippi Freedom Summer volunteers\, and countless
others. He also becomes a leader in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins\, the 1963
Birmingham campaign\, the 1966 Meredith March Against Fear\, and the 1968
Memphis sanitation workers&rsquo\; strike.
Nonviolent deliv
ers an intimate self-portrait of Lawson as a man who recognized the inhere
nt dignity of everyone\, and challenged all forms of violence\, including
police brutality\, enforced poverty\, and what he called plantation capita
lism. It shows his quest for justice continuing in Los Angeles well into t
he 21st century\, as he helped foster a more inclusive labor movement and
an enduring immigrant rights movement.
Nonviolent is a riveting histo
rical narrative from a central figure in global liberation and a testament
to compelling a nation to live up to its founding ideals of liberty and j
ustice for all. \;
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\nThe late Rev. James Lawson Jr. \;< /strong>was a pastor who was integral to the Civil Rights Movement and a k ey figure in ongoing campaigns for labor\, gender\, and immigrant rights.& nbsp\;He introduced the tactical\, philosophical\, and spiritual facets of nonviolence to generations of activists\, and inspired countless people w orldwide to join in creating the beloved community.
\nEmily Yellin \;is a journalist\, writer\, and producer. A longtime contributor to \;The New York Times \;and author of \;two othe r books\, she produced \;a \;ten-part \;video series\, \;1 \,300 Men: Memphis Strike '68\, for \;The Root. She first met Rev. Law son when she was five\, while attending elementary school in Memphis with his eldest son\, John.
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\nJohn C. Lawson II is \;a lawyer\, judge\, and father\, and \;the eldest son o
f Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. and Dorothy Lawson. He began his career in the
Los Angeles County Public Defender&rsquo\;s Office\, where he spent nearly
two \;decades representing \;some of the county&rsquo\;s most vul
nerable residents. In 2009\, he was appointed as \;a \;Los Angeles
Superior Court judge and has dedicated much of his judicial career to wor
king with young people\, focusing on rehabilitation\, education\, and seco
nd chances. He has served as a supervising judge of the Los Angeles County
Juvenile Justice division. \;
Much of John Lawson&rsquo\;s life
and work is rooted in the values he learned watching his father lead movem
ents for justice\, dignity\, and nonviolence\, and his mother work as a pu
blic school \;teacher. \; He often describes his work with young p
eople as a continuation of his parents&rsquo\; \;legacy: meeting peopl
e where they are\, believing in their potential\, and helping them envisio
n a path forward. \;
John was born in Nashville. His \;family
soon moved to Memphis\, where he was one of the first Black students at M
emphis State University Campus elementary school. \; He continued his
public school \;education during school busing when his family moved t
o Los Angeles in 1974\, where he eventually \;graduated \;from Pac
ific Palisades High School in 1979. John earned \;his undergraduate de
gree \;in Government and Sociology from Oberlin College and his law de
gree from Howard University School of Law. John and his wife\, Cima\, live
in Southern California and are the proud \;parents of Raven and Devin
\;Lawson. \;
Mariann Edgar Budde serves as spiritual leader for the congregations and Episcopal schools in the Dis trict of Columbia and four Maryland counties that comprise the Episcopal D iocese of Washington. The first woman elected to this position\, she also serves as the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation\, whi ch stewards the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathed ral schools. A passionate believer in the gospel of Jesus and the Episcopa l Church&rsquo\;s particular witness\, Bishop Budde is committed to the sp iritual and numerical growth of congregations and developing new expressio ns of Christian community. She believes that Jesus calls all who follow hi m to strive for justice and peace\, and to respect the dignity of every hu man being. She is proud to serve a diocese committed to spiritual maturity \, mercy\, and justice. She cherishes her friendship with interfaith leade rs in the Washington Metro Area and their joint endeavors in service to th e common good.
\nKaren Attiah \;(modera tor) is a journalist and columnist for \;The Washington Post\ , known for her insightful work on race\, gender\, human rights\, and inte rnational affairs. A native of Dallas Texas\, Karen is a former Fulbright Scholar to Ghana\, and has a masters degree in international affairs from Columbia University\, School of International and Public Affairs. She has reported from countries including Nigeria\, Curacao\, Ghana\, and Germany. Her work has appeared various global outlets including \;Associated P ress. In 2016\, she became \;The Washington Post&rsquo\;s founding Glo bal Opinions editor\, commissioning op-eds on global issues\, and was name d an Opinions columnist in 2021. Karen has received numerous awards\, incl uding the 2019 George Polk Special Award and NABJ&rsquo\;s Journalist of t he Year\, and \;Washingtonian Magazine&rsquo\;s \;&ldquo\;Star to Watch&rdquo\; Award. She was an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University&rs quo\;s School of International and Public Affairs. She is currently workin g on a book\, \;Say Your Word\, Then Leave\, a book about the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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