Pulse Institute: 'Rev. James Lawson In Mandela-Like Fashion Changed America'

(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)

Rev. James Lawson Jr., was a civil rights titan and the lead strategist for the nonviolence philosophy that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., employed during the Civil Rights Movement.

Bankole Thompson, the nationally acclaimed Detroit journalist and standard-bearer for economic justice, is the dean of The PuLSE Institute.

Attorney Tina M. Patterson, Principal Attorney at the Patterson Justice Counsel PLLC, is the President of The PuLSE Institute.

The Rev. James Lawson Jr., served not only as a top advisor to Dr. King, but also was the intellectual father of the Civil Rights Movement

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES, June 17, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- America owes a debt of deep gratitude to the late Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., the nation's leading strategist and thinker of the nonviolent philosophy that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., employed during the Civil Rights Movement.

Rev. Lawson, who died on June 9, 2024, at the age of 95, will be remembered not only as a civil rights titan, but for his benevolence in mentoring and guiding some of the most preeminent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement including the Rev. Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., Diane Nash and the late Congressman John Lewis. He was also the longtime pastor of Holman United Methodist Church in Los Angeles from 1974 to 1999.

Dr. LaFayette, is a member of the National Advisory Board of The PuLSE Institute, an independent anti-poverty think tank, and also serves as the chairman of the National Board of the historic Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the signature civil rights group founded by Dr. King, and which played a pivotal role in the 1950s and 1960s battle for civil rights. Rev. Lawson was a board member of SCLC as well as president of the Los Angeles Chapter.

A master tactician, Rev. Lawson, who was a student of Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent philosophy after spending some time studying in India, provided the strategies that were used to desegregate the South and consequently bringing Jim Crow to its knees.

“Rev. Lawson was a distinguished statesman, a humanitarian giant, towering intellect, and a strong, courageous Black man,” said renowned Attorney Tina M. Patterson, the president of The PuLSE Institute.“We, the generations that followed, are forever indebted to his contribution to humanity. This is especially true of the Black intellectual and professional class, who directly benefit from efforts ancestors such as Dr. Lawson made to break down the walls of the elite ivory towers, making educational and economic opportunities available to us.”

Patterson added,“Without his admirable work and brilliant mind, we would not be able to enjoy the advancements and advantages of higher socioeconomic mobility. Let his legacy encourage and inspire us to keep building for the next generations to follow and enjoy even more.”

Bankole Thompson, the nationally acclaimed Detroit journalist, and standard-bearer for economic justice issues, whose work inspired the founding of The PuLSE Institute, called Rev. Lawson,“A giant of history.”

“Rev. Lawson's exit from the battlefield for equality on this earth leaves a void that cannot be filled. His commitment as a Methodist minister and a civil rights hero, who championed the essence of decolonizing our minds from the vestiges of White supremacy will be etched in our memory for years to come,” said Thompson, who is the dean of The PuLSE Institute, and a twice-a-week opinion columnist at The Detroit News.

Thompson, who is a close friend and mentee of Dr. LaFayette, was named to the SCLC National Board in August of 2023. He praised the efforts of Rev. Lawson for helping to break down the barriers that held Black freedom hostage during the Jim Crow era.

“In Nelson Mandela-like fashion, Rev. Lawson, faced the enemies of racial justice and did not back down from echoing the theme and aspiration of Langston Hughes' poem on freedom,” Thompson said.“We have a historic, moral, and political obligation to continue to push for more room for Black people in the grand palace of democracy. That is indeed the legacy of Rev. Lawson.”

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