[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 152 (Wednesday, September 20, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4418]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
           RECOGNIZING REVEREND JAMES LAWSON'S 95TH BIRTHDAY

  (Ms. CHU asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 95th birthday of 
my friend, Reverend James Lawson, who for more than half a century has 
been a force for justice and worker rights.
  As a minister and teacher of nonviolent resistance, James Lawson was 
a leader of the civil rights movement and worked closely with Dr. 
Martin Luther King. Lawson led sit-ins, Freedom Rides, and strikes, 
including the historic 1968 Memphis sanitation strike, and he was a 
mentor to our beloved John Lewis.
  In 1974, Reverend Lawson moved to Los Angeles, where he teaches 
nonviolence at UCLA. His work orchestrating nonviolent sit-ins and 
civil disobedience helped improve working conditions for southern 
California hotel workers, generating a national movement for immigrant 
worker justice.
  Reverend Lawson has been an inspiration to many as he continues the 
fight for freedom and justice.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish Reverend Lawson a happy birthday.

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