[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 21408-21409]
[From the U.S. 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 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

[[Page 21409]]

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.

                          ____________________