James Lawson (activist) - Wikipedia

I live in in the Nashville area, Maj Marty Hogan, and Vanderbilt University has long been known as an institution of academic excellence. Unlike many Southern institutions of higher learning, it is also a bastion of liberalism, so I’m sure that many might wonder why Lawson would have been expelled for his views and activism. Quite simply, Vanderbilt has evolved to a more liberal mindset in a fairly short period of time.
In 1935, the Daughters of the Confederacy paid for a residence hall to be built on campus, naming it Confederate Memorial Hall. The name was finally changed in 2016, but Vanderbilt had to buy the building from the Daughters of the Confederacy in present dollars to accomplish the name change. Vanderbilt also had many other links to former Confederates in its early days. The attached link provides more information on the event.
I think it likely that one of the reasons that Lawson came to Vanderbilt was because of its long time association with the Methodist Church. Your article mentioned his ministry to Africa as a Methodist missionary. It’s purely speculative on my part, though, as I read nothing that so confirmed.
He may be great to some because of his Civil Rights activities, but his conviction for draft evasion (and serving 13 months for it) tarnishes and diminishes the man in my view.
SGT (Join to see) COL Mikel J. Burroughs Lt Col Charlie Brown

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2016/08/15/vanderbilt-will-remove-confederate-inscription-from-residence-hall/

Leadership at its finest. Too bad the "leaders" at Vanderbilt were not.

Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware that September 22 is the anniversary of the birth of American activist and university professor James Morris Lawson, Jr. who "was a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the Civil Rights Movement."
Even though he was expelled from Vanderbilt University for his Civil Rights activism in 1960, in April 2018 James Morris Lawson, Jr was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree from Rhodes College.

Images: 2018-04-06 (from left) Faculty Marshal Gary Lindquester, President Marjorie Hass, Rev. James Lawson, Faculty Marshal Loretta Jackson-Hayes, Rhodes Trustee Daniel Hatzenbuehler ’71
Happy 90th birthday James Morris Lawson, Jr.

Background from rhodes.edu/stories/rhodes-awards-honorary-degree-civil-rights-activist-rev-james-lawson
"APRIL 6, 2018
Rhodes College on April 5 awarded longtime civil rights activist Rev. James Lawson an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree. While in Memphis for MLK50 events, Lawson spoke to a packed room in Rhodes’ Briggs Hall about the history and changes of the country as well as the continued need for social justice. The Rhodes Board of Trustees earlier this year voted to confer the degree, and a brief ceremony took place prior to Lawson’s talk.

“Today we honor Rev. James Morris Lawson Jr. for his lifetime of service as a dedicated activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement,” said Rhodes College President Marjorie Hass, presenting him the degree. “As we reflect this week on the 50 years that have passed since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, we find ourselves now filled with hope and determination as we face the next 50 years. Rev. Lawson embodies what we value here at Rhodes: lifelong compassion and personal integrity.”

Born in Pennsylvania in 1928, Lawson grew up in Ohio and earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio’s Baldwin Wallace College. He spent time in India as a missionary after graduating and studied theology at Oberlin College before transferring to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.

While in Nashville, Lawson began directing nonviolence training workshops, which were attended by area college students, including many future leaders such as politician John Lewis. Their training sessions were put to the test in 1959 and 1960 with the launching of the Nashville sit-ins, which were later credited with disrupting segregation laws and practices. Vanderbilt expelled Lawson for his civil rights activism, but he went on to earn a Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from Boston University.

Lawson stayed committed to nonviolent protest to effect positive social change and was involved with the Freedom Riders, even joining the riders on a journey to Alabama, where they encountered violent racism and incarceration. In 1962, Lawson became pastor of Centenary Methodist Church in Memphis, and when workers began the Memphis Sanitation Strike in 1968 for higher wages and union recognition, Lawson served as chairman of the strike committee.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1974, Lawson served as pastor of the Holman United Methodist Church until his retirement in 1999. He has remained active in social movements and human rights issues including economic justice, LGBT equality, and immigration rights.

“In this cultural and political moment, where we see continued inequities and violence against the oppressed and marginalized, his example remains incredibly relevant,” said Hass. “His life of action inspires a call to each of us and reminds us to advocate for justice in our communities, to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, and to do, quite simply, what is right.”

Shaping Your Destiny | Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. | TEDxCrenshaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHezXAKDePA

FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Wayne Brandon LTC Bill Koski Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SPC Margaret Higgins MSgt Jason McClish AN Christopher Crayne SPC Tom DeSmet SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT (Join to see) SSG David Andrews