SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 100
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to
recognize Reverend James Lawson for his seminal work in the
pursuit of nonviolence as a means of achieving peace and equal
rights for all people; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson began his life of service to the
cause of racial equality while attending Baldwin-Wallace
College, where he joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the
Congress of Racial Equality, organizations dedicated to
nonviolent resistance to racism; and
WHEREAS, He later went to Nagpur, India, as a Methodist
missionary and studied the principles of nonviolent resistance
developed by Mohandas Gandhi and his followers; and
WHEREAS, While attending the Vanderbilt Divinity School in
1960, he organized and trained student activists and initiated a
series of sit-ins to challenge segregation in Nashville's
downtown business establishments; that same year, along with
Ella Baker, he helped organize and found the Student Nonviolent
Coordinating Committee; and
WHEREAS, The next year, Reverend Lawson brought his
brilliant organizing skills to bear in organizing the Freedom
Rides; he later served as an advance staff person for the 1963
Birmingham campaign and coordinated the 1966 James Meredith
march in Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson served as president of the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was called the
leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and
WHEREAS, Through the years, Reverend Lawson has taught at
such institutions as Vanderbilt University and Harvard
University, and he has maintained the vital work of training
activists in the tactics of nonviolence; he has also continued to
support such causes as workers' right to a living wage, the
rights of Palestinians, and immigrants' rights in the United
States; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson is appearing January 31 through
February 2, 2011, at the Zan W. Holmes, Jr., African Heritage
Lecture Series at Saint Luke "Community" United Methodist Church
in Dallas; he is truly deserving of recognition for his enduring
commitment to justice and equality; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 82nd
Legislature, hereby commend Reverend James Lawson for his
critical role in the nation's struggle to achieve equal rights
for all its citizens and extend to him best wishes for continued
success in all his future endeavors; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for
him as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate.
West
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on January 26, 2011.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate