Full Text of the Excerpt

Ah, did you ever run into a Nell Morton?

JAMES A. LAWSON:

Oh, Yes.

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:

Do you recall how, where, and when?

JAMES A. LAWSON:

Oh, lordy. That's a very difficult question because I can't remember precisely when and where because she has been a fairly long time in my life . . . in my student days as I remember.

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:

Where was that?

JAMES A. LAWSON:

Well, I was in Ohio at Baldwin-Wallace, but as I recall Nell Morton was in some of the National meetings I was into in North America and student things and that's where we first met but I do not know where this was. So she was one of those kind of people who, though I did not know her well, I knew her reputation: a person of courage and a person deeply committed to a racial justice and change, and then as a consequence of my meeting her, also becoming the draft resistor and whatnot in the '50's, she became one of the people who strongly supported my life ministry and witness, and still does. In fact, I was, I just talked with her back in September. She is retired out there at Claremont.

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:

Yes, I know. I spent a couple of days with her last summer.

JAMES A. LAWSON:

So . . .

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:

I didn't realize you were out in Los Angeles or I would've seen you at that time if I could have.

JAMES A. LAWSON:

Yeah. So, in fact, I was on TV in a run-in with Ed Robbs of the Institute of Religion and Race and she called me that afternoon to tell me how glad and pleased she was with what I did.

DALLAS A. BLANCHARD:

Ha, Ha.

JAMES A. LAWSON:

So she has continued to be that kind of motivator of mine.