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Guide for Activists



Explore Nonviolent Direct Action:


  1. What was your impression of nonviolent direct action before reading the book? Did it change after reading? 


  2. What is the difference between violence and nonviolence? In state action? In activism? In interpersonal interactions? 


  3. Rev. Lawson discusses expressing agitation without violence. Which methods did he use? What are examples of this today? 


  4. Discuss the tactics utilized by Rev. Lawson and the members of the movement: from packing to prisons, to nonviolent marches, strikes, boycotts. How can they be applied today?  


  5. Discuss Rev. Lawson’s philosophical influences, such as Gandhi's Salt March, and how he adapted them to the civil rights movement. 


Rev. James Lawson presented five steps of nonviolent direct action to the Nahville Student Movement in 1960: 

  1. Fact- finding: Study the situation, obtain all the facts.

  2. Negotiation: Present the facts, and raise the moral issue.

  3. Education: The entire community must be informed of the real issues; rumor and fear must be matched with facts. Dramatic forms of education can be used, such as marches, demonstrations, mass meeting.

  4. Preparation for Satyagraha: When the other stages of nonviolence fail to bring the desired changes, then the nonviolent group must prepare for direct action 


• Discuss how and where these were applied throughout the movement. What questions do you have about them? 


• What argument did Rev. Lawson use to advocate for nonviolence strategy versus violence as a means for change?


• What methods did MAP-South and the sanitation workers use in Memphis to fight against enforced poverty? 


• What is the importance of rest to activism? Discuss the “burn out” experienced by members of the SCLC and the work that Rev. Lawson’ did to counsel them in Chicago. Was this surprising? 


• Discuss Rev. Lawson’s work in Los Angeles and beyond? How did he apply the methods of his work in Nashville, Memphis, Chicago, and across the South to the work of fighting against deportation, mass incarceration and enforced poverty? 


• Where and how can the methods of nonviolence be applied today? 


Here is a list of successful nonviolent movements throughout history to learn to explore

Courtesy of — 


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