For Release: November 14, 2011
Contact: John C. Tishler 615-244-6380
Firm Chair
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
U. S. Congressman John Lewis Will Speak Friday, January 13,
at Nashville Event Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis Law Firm Hosts Civil Rights Leader with Ties to Nashville
Nashville, TN – United States Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis will be the featured speaker at a
January 13 luncheon celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. announced John C. Tishler, chairman
of law firm Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. Each year, Waller Lansden brings a prominent leader to
Nashville to speak on the topics of diversity and service. Paula Boggs, Senior Vice President and General
Counsel of Starbucks inaugurated the event last year.
The event will also include the presentation of the Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis Endowed Diversity
Scholarship to Meesha Kaw, a law student at the University of Tennessee College of Law. The scholarship is
awarded annually to a UT Law school student whose life has been guided by the legacy of Dr. King. At the
luncheon, Kaw will be recognized and share how Dr. King and his legacy influenced her life.
The Friday, January 13, luncheon will be presented at the Doubletree Nashville Downtown Hotel at 11:30 a.m.
More than 500 people, including attorneys, public officials, and business, education, civic and community
leaders, have been invited to attend.
“We are honored to welcome Congressman Lewis to Nashville on January 13,” said Tishler. “He has spent his
life protecting civil rights, securing civil liberties, and advocating for change.”
Congressman Lewis has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1986, representing
Georgia’s 5th Congressional district which includes the city of Atlanta and surrounding area. He has recently reintroduced legislation that would establish a national initiative to teach the principles of discipline and nonviolence to American youth.
Congressman Lewis received a B.A. in religion and philosophy from Fisk University and is a graduate of the
American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville. As a student at American Baptist College in Nashville, he
organized sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in the city.
In 1961, he volunteered to be one of the first Freedom Riders, challenging segregation at interstate bus terminals
across the south. Lewis was a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) at the
height of the Civil Rights movement, helping to coordinate sit-ins at lunch counters and other activities. By
1963, Lewis was known as one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights movement. At the age of 23, he
delivered a keynote address at the March on Washington, DC, where Dr. King delivered his historic “I Have a
Dream” speech.
After leaving SNCC in 1966, Lewis remained committed to the Civil Rights movement serving as Associate
Director of the Field Foundation and participating in the Southern Regional Council’s voter registration
programs. He served as Director of the Voter Education Project (VEP) which added nearly four million
minority voters to the rolls. In 1977, John Lewis was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to direct more than
250,000 volunteers of ACTION, the federal volunteer agency.
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He has been awarded over fifty honorary degrees from colleges and universities across the country, including
Princeton University, Duke University, Georgetown University, Morehouse College and many more. He is the
recipient of numerous awards including the Lincoln Medal from Ford’s Theatre, the Golden Plate Award given
by the Academy of Excellence, the Preservation Hero award given by the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize and the only John F. Kennedy “Profile in
Courage Award” for Lifetime Achievement ever granted by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.
John Lewis co-authored his biography with author Michael D’Orso, entitled Walking With The Wind: A History
of the Movement. In 2006, two other books were written about his life: Freedom Riders: John Lewis and Jim
Zwerg on the Front Lines of the Civil Rights Movement by Ann Bausum, and John Lewis in the Lead by Jim
Haskins and Kathleen Benson, featuring illustrations by famous Georgia artist Bennie Andrews. He has been
featured in several books and documentaries on the Civil Rights movement.
About Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP
Waller Lansden helps businesses and individuals throughout the United States and abroad achieve financial and
strategic goals in a wide range of transactional, regulatory and litigation matters.
Waller Lansden’s deep roster of approximately 200 experienced business lawyers addresses the legal needs of
clients in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, commercial finance, securities, restructuring,
real estate, tax and the expansion or relocation of business operations.
A trusted advisor to many of the leading companies in the highly regulated healthcare industry, Waller Lansden
has earned a national reputation for creative insight and professional commitment and was recognized recently
as one of the nation's largest healthcare law firms by Modern Healthcare.
Waller Lansden has ranked among “America’s Best Corporate Law Firms” by Corporate Board Member
magazine since 2000, and 71 Waller Lansden partners are AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.
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For additional information:
Deborah Varallo
Varallo Public Relations
615.367.5200, ext. 14
[email protected]
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