Pelosi Statement on the Passing of Reverend James Lawson

Washington, D.C. – Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the passing of Reverend James Lawson:

“The passing of Reverend James Lawson is an enormous loss for our country and for the world.  His prayerful, peaceful leadership embodied our sacred charge as Americans to form a more perfect union – and will continue to inspire freedom fighters for generations to come.

“Reverend Lawson was a giant of the civil rights movement.  A student of Ghandi’s teachings, Reverend Lawson showed us all that ‘nonviolence’ is one word – because it is about the presence of justice, not the absence of violence.  He was a leading architect of the civil disobedience strategy, shaping the approach of a generation of activists in the struggle for justice, including Dr. King and John Lewis.  And he practiced what he preached: from participating in sit-ins at segregated lunch counters, to boycotting segregated department stores, to registering Black voters to build Black political power.

“May it be a comfort to his wife, Dorothy, their sons Morris and John, their grandchildren, his brother Phillip and the entire Lawson family that a grateful nation is praying for them during this sad time.”