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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 100
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to |
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recognize Reverend James Lawson for his seminal work in the |
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pursuit of nonviolence as a means of achieving peace and equal |
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rights for all people; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson began his life of service to the |
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cause of racial equality while attending Baldwin-Wallace |
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College, where he joined the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the |
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Congress of Racial Equality, organizations dedicated to |
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nonviolent resistance to racism; and |
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WHEREAS, He later went to Nagpur, India, as a Methodist |
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missionary and studied the principles of nonviolent resistance |
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developed by Mohandas Gandhi and his followers; and |
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WHEREAS, While attending the Vanderbilt Divinity School in |
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1960, he organized and trained student activists and initiated a |
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series of sit-ins to challenge segregation in Nashville's |
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downtown business establishments; that same year, along with |
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Ella Baker, he helped organize and found the Student Nonviolent |
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Coordinating Committee; and |
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WHEREAS, The next year, Reverend Lawson brought his |
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brilliant organizing skills to bear in organizing the Freedom |
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Rides; he later served as an advance staff person for the 1963 |
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Birmingham campaign and coordinated the 1966 James Meredith |
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march in Mississippi; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson served as president of the |
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Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was called the |
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leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world by |
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and |
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WHEREAS, Through the years, Reverend Lawson has taught at |
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such institutions as Vanderbilt University and Harvard |
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University, and he has maintained the vital work of training |
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activists in the tactics of nonviolence; he has also continued to |
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support such causes as workers' right to a living wage, the |
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rights of Palestinians, and immigrants' rights in the United |
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States; and |
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WHEREAS, Reverend Lawson is appearing January 31 through |
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February 2, 2011, at the Zan W. Holmes, Jr., African Heritage |
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Lecture Series at Saint Luke "Community" United Methodist Church |
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in Dallas; he is truly deserving of recognition for his enduring |
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commitment to justice and equality; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 82nd |
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Legislature, hereby commend Reverend James Lawson for his |
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critical role in the nation's struggle to achieve equal rights |
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for all its citizens and extend to him best wishes for continued |
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success in all his future endeavors; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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him as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. |
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West |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on January 26, 2011. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |