Dear Colleagues, friends, and James Lawson Institute (JLI) Community,

We are yet again learning of the death of a Black man by those who have sworn to uphold Justice, pursue peace, and to protect.  What we know is that five police officers in Memphis, TN have been charged with the brutal beating and murder of 27 year-old Tyre Nichols.The Memphis police chief described the violence inflicted on Mr. Nichols by five Black police officers, as inhuman. Mr. Nichols’ mother and father can barely give a name to their feelings or these acts because, “it’s like a nightmare.”  The name for the wanton disregard for human life and Black bodies is called evil.

The evil that runs through society cannot be thwarted by turning away. We must confront the systemic, spiritual, political, and cultural forces raging through the veins of US American society. We must stop the flow of blood and tears; we must apply ashes and, as a nation, repent for what Rev. James M. Lawson calls our love affair with violence. We must together mourn so deeply that our feet move us to rise up and resist, provoke, and use every resource available to demand change—inside and in our cites and across the nation.

Today, let us say, “as for me and my house,” we join the movement for non-violence to hold police departments, our cities, and one another accountable for the violence wreaking heartbreak and rage.

If you, like us, are ready to commit with heart, hands, and feet to imagining and creating change, join the the Jame Lawson Institute on Wednesday February 1st at 5:30-6:30 p.m. on a zoom to begin to co-create the world we imagine.

Join us here on zoom >>

If you are unable to join us for this meeting, contact Dr. Phillis Isabella Sheppard at jameslawsoninstitute@vanderbilt.edu and let us know if you are interested in the next gathering.

Either way, may peace and peaceful ways fill your hearts and guide your steps.

Onward,

 

 

 

Emilie M. Townes
Dean
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair
University Distinguished Professor of Womanist Ethics and Society
and Gender and Sexuality Studies
Divinity School and College of Arts and Science
Director, VDS Public Theology and Racial Justice Collaborative

Phillis Isabella Sheppard
Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Chair
Professor of Religion, Psychology and Culture
Director of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements

Rev. Laura Mariko Cheifetz
Assistant Dean of Admissions, Vocation, and Student Life
Vanderbilt Divinity School