Vanderbilt University Divinity School - Civil Rights Era

Civil Rights Era

A notable period in the history of Vanderbilt Divinity School was the Civil Rights era. In 1960, African-American Divinity student James Lawson was expelled from the university for his role in nonviolent protests in the Nashville area. This expulsion, in turn, sparked great protest from many members of the Vanderbilt community, including most of the faculty of the Divinity School, who resigned en masse. The so-called "Lawson Affair" was eventually resolved with Lawson's nominal reinstatement, and the resigned faculty resumed their posts.

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