Memphis hosts book launch for Rev. James Lawson Jr.’s memoir ‘Nonviolent’ amid civil rights anniversaries
A posthumous memoir tied to pivotal organizing in Memphis and Nashville
A series of public events in February 2026 is marking the publication of Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love, a posthumous memoir by the Rev. James Lawson Jr., co-authored with journalist Emily Yellin. Lawson, a Methodist minister and a major strategist of nonviolent direct action in the U.S. civil rights movement, died in Los Angeles on June 9, 2024, at age 95.
The memoir’s release date is Feb. 17, 2026. Listings for the book describe it as a long-form account spanning Lawson’s life and organizing work, including civil rights campaigns and later activism around economic and labor justice. The hardcover edition is widely listed with ISBN 9780593596241.
Memphis-area launch events scheduled for Feb. 20 and Feb. 22
In Memphis, a major launch program has been scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at the National Civil Rights Museum. The format described in event information includes a conversation featuring Yellin and Lawson’s eldest son, John Lawson, followed by a book signing. The program is also described as incorporating movement-era music and bringing together families connected to the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, the campaign that drew the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to Memphis shortly before his assassination.
A second Memphis event is planned for Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, at Centenary United Methodist Church at 584 E. McLemore Ave. Event details describe a midday conversation and signing, again featuring Yellin and John Lawson, and note that admission is free and open to the public.
New York and Nashville appearances place the book within a broader national rollout
The Memphis events are part of a broader launch schedule that includes a Feb. 17, 2026 appearance in New York City at the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, listed as an in-person and livestreamed program. Program details list a discussion with Yellin and John Lawson, moderated by journalist Trymaine Lee.
In Nashville, a Feb. 18 event has been promoted at the Woolworth Theatre, located in the downtown area associated with the 1960 Nashville sit-ins. Lawson is historically linked to training student activists in nonviolent strategy in Nashville during that period.
Why Lawson’s Memphis history remains central to the memoir’s reception
Lawson’s name is closely connected to Memphis through his role as a pastor and organizer and through his involvement in the 1968 sanitation workers’ strike, a defining labor and civil rights struggle that remains central to the city’s modern civic memory. The February 2026 Memphis book events are structured around that legacy, positioning the memoir as both a historical account and a record of organizing principles that shaped landmark campaigns.
Book: Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love (Rev. James Lawson Jr., with Emily Yellin)
Release date: Feb. 17, 2026
Memphis museum event: Feb. 20, 2026 (National Civil Rights Museum), with signing
Memphis church event: Feb. 22, 2026 (Centenary United Methodist Church), conversation and signing
The February 2026 schedule places Memphis alongside New York and Nashville in a coordinated rollout, with events emphasizing Lawson’s strategy-focused role in nonviolent direct action and his continued relevance to labor and civil rights history.