Congressional Medal of Freedom awarded to Civil Rights icon James Lawson

(From Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)

This week, I had the privilege, along with my colleagues, of introducing legislation to honor a man who helped changed history.

Reverend James Lawson is one of the most consequential Civil Rights leaders in American history.
I along with, Congressmen Ro Khanna, John Lewis, and James Clyburn, introduced legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the civil rights icon.

Rev. James Lawson was well known for his non-violent stance which influenced the direction of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His fingerprints can be found on every major civil rights victory.

Among his many feats, he trained young protesters and activists and launched the Nashville, Tennessee sit-ins to challenge segregation in downtown stores. He also helped develop the strategy for the Freedom Riders who rode buses in southern states to challenge segregated seating on public buses.

When you look back at the historic videos and see the protesters withstand food thrown in their faces and the vile name-calling, it is hard to watch. But those determined protesters never lifted a hand in anger. Even when they were punched, kicked and pushed their silence and unwavering stand was their way of fighting back.

This was the teaching of Rev. Lawson who spent three years in India as a missionary and studied Mahatma Gandhi’s strategy of nonviolent struggle before returning to the United States.

He became a leader in the Civil Rights movement and worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to achieve equality through peaceful activism. Dr. King called Lawson the “leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.”

This year, Rev. Lawson will be celebrating his 90th birthday. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the distinguished Gold Medal.