Civil rights icon, nonviolence advocate, Pastor James Lawson dies at 95

Funeral services were pending Monday for the Rev. James Lawson Jr., an icon of the Civil Rights Movement and the longtime pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in South Los Angeles.

Bass said Lawson “was gracious enough to meet with young people we were working with in South Los Angeles and teach them about the civil rights movement while training them in non-violent protest strategies,” when help found the Community Coalition organization.Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

“Yet as sad as I feel to lose an icon, I am in awe of such an accomplished life,” Gipson said. “It leaves a legacy including the nonviolence work of the James Lawson Institute, an immense body of writings published during his time in California, and the many ways that our community champions the cause of others' freedom to this day. May he rest in peace.”“The ultimate teacher and practitioner of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance,” Smiley wrote on social media.

While a student at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, Lawson was drafted by the U.S. Army, but refused to serve due to his belief in nonviolence and was sentenced to two years in prison. In 1957, King urged Lawson to move to the South telling him, “Come now. We don't have anyone like you down there.” He moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he attended Vanderbilt University and began teaching nonviolent protest techniques.

Lawson participated in the 1961 Freedom Rides which challenged segregation on interstate buses and bus terminals.

Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

South Los Angeles pastor and civil rights icon, Rev. James Lawson Jr., dies at 95Lawson served as pastor at Holman United Methodist Church from 1974 to his retirement in 1999.
Source: CBSLA - 🏆 552. / 51 Read more »

Civil rights icon Pastor James Lawson dies at 95The longtime South LA pastor was a pioneer in the use of nonviolent protest.
Source: ladailynews - 🏆 332. / 59 Read more »

Rev. James Lawson Jr. dies at 95, civil rights leader's family saysThe Rev. James Lawson Jr., a key architect of the Civil Rights Movement and an inspiring religious leader, has died. He was 95.
Source: ABC7 - 🏆 67. / 68 Read more »

Civil Rights leader the Rev. James Lawson Jr. dies at age 95, family saysLawson was a close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Source: 13WHAM - 🏆 256. / 63 Read more »

Civil rights leader and nonviolent protest pioneer Rev. James Lawson Jr. dies at 95The Rev. James Lawson Jr., a civil rights activist and close adviser to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has died at age 95 in Los Angeles.
Source: NBCDFW - 🏆 288. / 63 Read more »