Rev. James Lawson is a leading theorist and practitioner of nonviolent social action. During the 1960s he advised Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and lead civil rights campaigns in Nashville and Memphis. Since the 1970s, his teaching on nonviolence has shaped the practice of social movements in southern California an across the country.

Vinay Lal is Professor of History at UCLA where he teaches courses on Indian history, postcolonial societies, and the contemporary world history. He writes about the politics of history for academic and popular audiences.