[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 121 (Friday, September 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING REV. JAMES MORRIS LAWSON JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HILDA L. SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 5, 2003

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to recognize one of 
the most inspiring and remarkable leaders in the United States, Rev. 
James Morris Lawson Jr. Rev. Lawson Jr. is a minister and a civil 
rights leader who has worked hard to further the advancement of people 
of color.
  Rev. Lawson was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1928. Since early 
on in his life, he has strongly advocated for nonviolent resistance to 
achieve political change, a philosophy he developed by studying 
Ghandian ethics and Methodist theology. A leader in the fight against 
racism, Rev. Lawson was instrumental in desegregating many of our 
Nation's societies, especially those in the southern States during the 
late 1950's and 1960's.
  In 1957, Rev. Lawson worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 
helped shape the Southern Christian Leadership Council, a national 
organization that dismantled barriers for black citizens in the 
segregated south. Rev. Lawson helped organize students in southern 
universities to perform nonviolent demonstrations to desegregate 
restaurants and drug stores in Nashville, Tennessee. His actions 
influenced others in Historically Black Colleges and Universities to 
protest, eventually helping to end segregation throughout the South.
  Admirably, Rev. Lawson's leadership not only helped black citizens 
achieve political change, but he also aided labor unions, women, gays 
and lesbians, and recently incarcerated individuals. With all these 
monumental accomplishments, Rev. Lawson continues to fight for social 
justice even in his mid-70's.
  His accomplishments as a dignitary of civil rights have inspired 
other civil leaders, like me, to achieve political change. Therefore, I 
am privileged to recognize him as the perfect example of today's 
exceptional leader.

                          ____________________