Emanuel Cleaver: “Let me begin by stating some very related facts. First and foremost, I am a proud United Methodist. In fact, I am an…”

“Let me begin by stating some very related facts. First and foremost, I am a proud United Methodist. In fact, I am an ordained United Methodist elder. I served one church for 38 years as pastor. The church, St. James United Methodist Church, is located in Kansas City, Missouri. I followed the Reverend Phillip J. Lawson as the pastor. Phil Lawson was a very prominent social activist in Kansas City. In terms of his activism, he followed his big brother, the inimitable James Lawson. James Lawson was the civil rights iconic pastor of the Centenary United Methodist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. It was Jim Lawson who, upon returning from India spending 3 years working under the tutelage of Mahatma Gandhi, met Martin Luther King, Jr., and began to talk about this theory of nonviolence. Dr. King invited him to move to the South and work with this fledgling organization called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jim Lawson also remained in Memphis where he began to tutor individuals who were going to participate in the freedom rides. Jim Lawson was a major human being, and he is someone who helped give me the guidance I needed as a young person becoming involved in not only the United Methodist Church but the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jim Lawson was so prophetic to all of the young people, including our own John Lewis, who served here with us for many years, for several decades.…”