2026 Community Over Chaos Speaker Series
Overview
"Community Over Chaos"
A series convening scholars, organizers, and community leaders to examine how nonviolence, dialogue, and collective action can advance a more just and compassionate society in times of crisis.
Inspired by James Lawson’s lifelong commitment to nonviolence and Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to choose “community over chaos,” the series explores interconnected struggles for justice and the transformative potential of nonviolent action. Through critical dialogue and shared learning, Community Over Chaos fosters moral reflection and equips participants to engage in collective action grounded in solidarity, truth, and an enduring commitment to community.
This series is presented in collaboration with Dialogue Vanderbilt’s 250 Conversations on America: Civil Discourse in Action.
Click on an event below to learn more and register. Registration links will be updated as events approach.
Upcoming Events
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February 18, 2026
6:00 pm Woolworth Theatre
Rev. James M. Lawson, Jr. Memoir Release Celebration
This celebratory book release will feature musical performances, dialogue with Rev. Lawson’s son, John Lawson, and the co-author, Emily Yellin.
The program will highlight how Lawson’s legacy continues to inform contemporary conversations around justice, nonviolence, and collective action in times of social and political uncertainty.
The first 200 event attendees will receive a copy of Rev. Lawson's memoir: "NONVIOLENT: My Life of Resistance, Agitation, and Love by Reverend James Lawson, Jr. and Emily Yellin
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April 2, 2026
4:00 pm Vanderbilt Garland Hall- 064 Cammack Lecture Hall
Poverty: Community Over Chaos Speaker Series
Matthew Desmond on poverty, housing, and inequality in America. First 50 guests to receive a copy of "Poverty, by America."
Join us for an evening with Dr. Matthew Desmond, MacArthur “Genius” and Princeton sociologist, in conversation with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University.
Desmond is one of the nation’s leading voices on poverty, housing, and inequality. He rose to prominence with his Pulitzer Prize–winning bestseller Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, a landmark work that transformed public understanding of eviction, economic exploitation, and the lived experience of poverty in America. He is also the founder and principal investigator of Princeton’s Eviction Lab, which produced the first-ever national database of evictions and continues to shape research and policy nationwide. His latest book, Poverty, by America, a #1 New York Times bestseller, examines why poverty persists in the richest country in the world and challenges us to imagine a more just and inclusive future.
He will be joined by Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, a distinguished professor, gifted writer, and one of the nation’s most prominent public intellectuals. Dr. Dyson has taught at leading institutions including Princeton, Brown, and Georgetown, and is currently Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University. He is the author of more than 25 books, including seven New York Times bestsellers, and has received numerous honors, including the Langston Hughes Medal, the American Book Award, and two NAACP Image Awards. Widely recognized for his incisive commentary on race, social justice, and contemporary culture, his work on figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Barack Obama has helped shape national conversations on race in America.