In the classroom…
When Martin Luther King, Jr. and James Lawson met in 1957, both men were 28 years old. During that meeting, King urged Lawson to move to the South and begin teaching nonviolence on a large scale. Lawson would accept King’s invitation. Because he was uniquely present in the student activist network, the church, and the community, Lawson was considered the “lynchpin” of the Civil Rights Movement. Civil rights legend John Lewis referred to James Lawson as the “architect of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Lawson’s Workshop is heralded as the very first film to put the viewer into James Lawson’s classroom —the same classroom that produced civil rights legends such as C.T. Vivian, Diane Nash, James Bevel, and, of course, John Lewis. These and other “soldiers” of nonviolence would use Lawson’s teaching to challenge a nation and inspire the world.
Lawson’s Workshop is written and directed by Chris Preitauer, producer and director of the award-winning film When I Get Grown. The film is Executive Produced by Dr. Mira Foster and co-produced by Dr. Clayborne Carson, founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Dr. Michael Honey, producer of the film Love and Solidarity, is also a co-producer for Lawson’s Workshop.
Nine Sisters Studios is proud to present Lawson’s Workshop.
Lawson’s Workshop Trailer
“This film powerfully shows the trajectory of Rev. James Lawson from the past to contemporary times. It is a very good pedagogical tool.”
— Dr. Phillis Sheppard, Executive Director James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements
“Capturing the four steps of nonviolence is a huge contribution. This is the first documentary where Rev. Lawson presents all four steps.”
— Kent Wong, Director of the UCLA Labor Center
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